MONTERREY, Mexico Anti-globalization groups meeting in anticipation of the UN forum on poverty dismissed U.S. President George W. Bush's five-billion-dollar aid commitment, scornfully referring to the proposed aid as "crumbs."

"We don't want crumbs. We don't need them. What we want are changes in the rules to stanch the bleeding of nations in the south," said Alejandro Villamar, an organizer of the global forum.

The group of 2,600 activists met Saturday as a prelude to the upcoming UN international forum on finance for development, to begin here on March 18.

On Thursday, Bush said he would boost aid spending by five billion dollars over three years, about 0.1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

The 15 European Union member states agreed Thursday to set the average rate of aid to poor countries at 0.39 percent of GDP by 2006, up from the current rate of 0.33 percent, AFP reported.

"For every dollar of aid that the south receives, the north receives six dollars of interest payments from poor countries," Villamar said.

The critics of globalization would like to see a democratization of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, a tax on international financial transactions, forgiveness for debts obtained under dictatorial governments and the opening of markets to products from poor countries.