And while PM Briceno caught the attention of the international community with his strident statements of support for Cuba and Venezuela, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley caught the ears of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at second plenary session today when she went full Bob Marley with her speech:
Mia Mottley, Prime Minister - Barbados
"Bless my eyes this morning, Jah son is on the rise again. The way earthly thing are going, anything can happen. Mr. Secretary, there is so much trouble in the world, excellencies, there is so much trouble in the world and we have come to Los Angeles hopeful that we're no just going to engage in speeches or we are not just going to engage in platitudes, but we go home to make a difference to people at perhaps the most difficult time this world has seen in a hundred years. My friends, how much more evidence do we need? You see men sailing on their ego trip, blast off on their space ship, million miles from reality, no care for you, no care for me. If I could have sung it, you could have joined me, but I dont need you to join me in the words of this song, I need you to join us in the course of action that our people need, not want."
"Our people need intermediate intervention. 6th week crops and 12th week crops is what is going to feed our people. We need to be able to shield them from the price of fertilizer that is making their efforts almost impossible. We simply do not have the fiscal space to respond to crisis not spawn by ourselves, bit spawn by others and we are facing a double jeopardy. Our countries were those from whom wealth was extracted in order to build the developed world. Our countries were left at independence with no compact, no money to finance basic rights of housing and healthcare and education and we must also address the reality of exclusion. Not only exclusion of individuals in our society through racism and class prejudice, but exclusion of countries from the ability to participate in the financial system by having us de-risk, by having correspondence banks, Belize - 83% of its banks have been de-risk. How do the people of Belize do trade with the rest of the world, with the United States of America if their people cant buy, cant send remittances, if we are told that our institutions are too small to matter and therefore it is better not to do business with us. Are we to become financial pariahs in a world at the same time that we seek to bring equity? There is so much trouble in this world. If we think we found the solution, it must not in the words of Bob, be another illusion."
