Chavez softens stance on ethanol

PORLAMAR, Venezuela — Venezuela President Hugo Chavez appeared to soften his opposition to a U.S.-Brazil ethanol deal Tuesday after running up against a staunchly defiant Brazil, insisting that his real objection is to the U.S. corn-based variety of the biofuel — not Brazilian ethanol produced with sugar cane.

Chavez said he doesn't object to ethanol, which the U.S. and Brazil have agreed to jointly promote, but that he does oppose U.S. plans to step up production of ethanol made from corn. He called it "taking corn away from people and the food chain to feed automobiles — a terrible thing."

"We aren't against biofuels," Chavez said. "In fact we want to import ethanol from Brazil." He said Venezuela needs some 200,000 barrels of ethanol a day to be used as a fuel additive.

He also urged the U.S. to lower tariffs on Brazilian ethanol made from sugar cane, a point that has been pressed with Washington by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Chavez used to speak warmly about ethanol's future, but he came out harshly against a U.S.-Brazil pact last month to promote its production in Latin America. He warned that rampant ethanol production would monopolize arable lands and starve the poor — concerns shared by his Cuban ally Fidel Castro.

Brazil dismissed those criticisms, saying that starvation is caused by a lack of income — not a lack of food.

"The truth is that biofuel is a way out for the poor countries of the world," Silva told reporters after the summit. "Obviously there is no possibility of competition between food production and biofuel production. ... No one is going to stop planting rice to plant biofuels. The problem of food in the world now is not lack of production of food. It's a lack of income for people to buy food."

Chavez did not voice specific criticism of plans by Brazil and the U.S. to promote ethanol use in other countries.

Amid the differences, Chavez has gradually modified his criticisms, insisting that Brazil's ethanol plans are fundamentally different from Washington's.

Chavez last week spoke out against U.S. aims to substitute gasoline with ethanol, raising environmental concerns that have been voiced by experts. However, Brazil also has pioneered the use of cars that run on both gasoline and ethanol.

David Fleischer, a political scientist at Brazil's University of Brasilia, said Chavez appeared to backtrack in order to avoid a confrontation with Brazil.