Frei Betto in the International Book Fair Cuba 2011

Brazilian theologian Frei Betto said Monday that we live in a world of globocolonization, which imposes a consumer culture.

"We can confront this phenomenon of Anglo-Saxon origin with the culture of the oppressed, a true globalization which privileges diversity and the capacity to give importance to the value of each community and each person", he said.

Frei Betto attended the closing of the International Book Fair Cuba 2011 at Havana, which will begin next Wednesday to tour the country.

Speaking to journalists, Betto emphasized the need to rescue the ancient traditions of the region, the culture of indigenous communities and their rich oral heritage.

Referring to the Fair, Betto praised the idea of declaring guests of honor to the countries of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America.

This choice favors the integration process in Latin America, the only continent that is characterized by progressive governments, he added. Betto, who is the author of "Fidel and religion", expressed the wish that the Fair continue to strengthen and be "a sounding board for all the literature produced in Latin America".