Brazilian President's Comment Is a Lulu

Well. What to make of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva's assertion today that the current economic slump is solely the fault of "white, blue-eyed" people? That "no black man or woman, no indigenous person, no poor person" had any role in the crisis, except as victim?

It's so obviously inaccurate (for a start: President Lula, meet E. Stanley O'Neal); fatuous (yes, indeed, successful bankers -- like, er, successful politicians -- generally are not poor people); and racist that it's perhaps best to ignore it as a brain fart.

The good news, for the most powerful Brazilian bankers anyway, is that Lulu couldn't have been referring to them. A quick check confirms that while every top official of the Brazilian Central Bank appears to be white, not one of them has blue eyes.

From top to bottom:

Alvir Alberto Hoffmann, deputy governor for supervision.

Antonio Gustavo Matos do Vale, deputy governor for bank liquidation and privatization.

Alexandre Antonio Tombini, deputy governor for financial system regulation and organization.

Mario Magalhães Carvalho Mesquita, deputy governor for economic policy.

Mario Torós, deputy governor for monetary policy.

Anthero de Moraes Meirelles, deputy governor for administrative affairs.

Maria Celina Berardinelli Arraes, deputy governor for international affairs.