Pop star Bono met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this weekend for lunch at the Granja do Torto (a presidential retreat just outside the city of BrasÀlia). Bono said that he intends to donate the guitar he will use in his shows in São Paulo to the Zero Hunger program.
Speaking to reporters, Bono said that he believed Zero Hunger was a viable program. "It is something that is possible. But it has to be organized, it has to have a strategy. And it must not be seen as just a leftist thing. If you want to eliminate hunger, everybody has to be involved," he said.
Bono said he meeting with Lula "was great and the lunch was marvelous." He went on to say that the 21st century should be Latin America’s century, "and Brazil is the Latin American leader." He said that Lula was something new in the world.
This was the second time Bono and Lula have gotten together. They first met in Davos at the World Economic Summit last year.
The Lula-Bono lunch consisted of typical Brazilian dishes and fruit. The beverages served were non-alcoholic.
Biodiesel
Lula spoke with the pop star about the Brazilian National Biodiesel Program and measures to combat poverty in Brazil.
According to presidential spokesman, André Singer, Lula told Bono about the biodiesel project, which will provide the country with a new, clean, renewable energy source that will also create jobs. Biodiesel is produced from oilseed plants (castor beans, sunflowers, and soybeans).
The government estimates that for each industrial job, biodiesel will generate a thousand jobs in agriculture. According to Singer, biodiesel production has already spawned 60,000 jobs in Brazil. He said that the total number of jobs expected to be created by the end of Lula’s term is 100,000.
Agência Brasil