"White people with blue eyes."

(NEW YORK POST, MARCH 28 2009)
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was stunned at a press conference yesterday when Brazil's president told him "white people with blue eyes" caused the world's financial crisis.

"I am not acquainted with a single black banker," the outspoken Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said after greeting Brown in Brasilia.

Brown is on a three-continent tour to drum up enthusiasm for the G-20 summit he will host in London next week.

But da Silva, a socialist who once worked as a lathe operator, told Brown that poor countries should not have to suffer because of mistakes made by the rich.

During a joint press conference, he suddenly pointed his finger at Brown and said, "This is a crisis that was caused by white people with blue eyes. And before the crisis, they looked as if they knew everything about economics."

Brown stood uneasily next to da Silva as he continued his lecture: "Once again, the great part of the poor in the world . . . they were the first ones to suffer.

"Since I am not acquainted with any black bankers, I can only say that this part of humanity that is the major victim of the world crisis, these people should pay for the crisis? I cannot accept that."

Brown gingerly said he would seek input from da Silva, along with the leaders of other developing nations, during the summit.

"I welcome Brazil's commitment to play its part," he said.

A Brown spokesman later said the remarks by da Silva -- who is white -- were intended for Brazil's "domestic consumption."

The Brazilian leader, widely known as just "Lula," is famous in his country for his simple explanations of complex issues. Among them: "International trades are like an egg without a yolk." In a CNN interview to air Sunday, he said he would take his experience as a poor, unemployed factory worker to the summit.

"When I'm sitting in the G-20 meetings with all those presidents and heads of state, I know I am the only one that definitely went through a lot of misery and hunger," he said.

"I lived in houses that were flooded by water . . . Sometimes, I had to fight over space with rats and cockroaches and waste would come in when it flooded."