McCain renews support for Brazil on UN Security Council: report
SAO PAULO (AFP) — US presidential hopeful John McCain backs Brazil's inclusion on the UN Security Council and in an expanded G8, and would bump Russia from the exclusive club of leading world economies, a Brazilian newspaper reported Sunday.
McCain "supports a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for Brazil and an increased participation for the country in the G-8," the O Estado de Sao Paulo daily reported, after interviewing the Republican presidential contender.
Echoing remarks he has made in the past, McCain reportedly told the daily that he is also in favor of India's admission to the G8, while he would oust Moscow over an erosion of democracy.
"The senator defends free trade as a way of 'expanding' democracy on the continent," the daily wrote, without directly quoting the Republican senator.
The Portuguese language report of the interview also quoted McCain as supporting the elimination of tariffs on US imports of ethanol.
The senator was quoted directly as calling for a more "sustainable" US energy policy, condemning corn-based ethanol produced in the US Midwest, while praising biofuel from sugarcane as "much more efficient."
Brazil maintains that sugarcane ethanol is a renewable, eco-friendly sources of energy that can help combat global warming, but the biofuels industry has become mired in controversy recently because of a worldwide food shortage that has seen an uptick in rioting and hunger.
