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The World Social Forum confronts the difficult task of creating a new type of politics, and that ain’t no party  

by Rici Lake January 26, 2003

Two years ago, some eight thousand activists gathered in the quiet Brazilian city of Porto Alegre to express an alternate viewpoint, originating from the South, to the World Economic Forum being held in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos. They optimistically called the event the “World Social Forum.”

A year later, with the anti-globalization movement in full swing, some 50,000 people from all over the world descended on Porto Alegre to repeat the event. This year, the number has doubled again — more than 100,000 people were present to hear newly-elected Brazilian president Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva call the World Social Forum the “most important political event of the year.”

Lula was not exaggerating. The World Social Forum has displaced Davos from the front pages of this week’s world press. Brazilian cabinet ministers, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and everyone who is anyone in the world of international co-operation are present. An estimated three thousand journalists are jostling for space in the converted parking lot of the PUC, Porto Alegre’s university.

For Porto Alegre, the event is both an economic blessing — an estimated $26 million (U.S.) will be spent by participant and visitors — and a logistical nightmare. Over the course of the four-day event, diverse organizations are hosting more than three thousand workshops and cultural events, in addition to the main conference.

The event has overflowed the university and taken over every large venue the city has to offer, including improvised spaces in the historic waterfront warehouse district. Thirty-two brand new buses have been allocated to shuttling delegates back and forth between sites; a traffic jam of taxis is available for those on expense accounts or rushing to make a presentation.

Hotels are packed; a tent city has sprung up in the city’s main park; and, at all hours, ragged queues mark the entrances to the city’s restaurants.

The intense summer sun alternates with torrential downpours which temporarily relieve the heat, giving the event the feeling, as one Canadian delegate put it, of “a Canadian folk festival for activists.”

In three years, the WSF has moved from being a protest that created space for political debate into an attempt to organize the new global civil society. But the very success and size of the event threatens to frustrate the intent. The amorphousness and chaotic interconnectedness of the global movement is both its charm and its limitation.

This year, the official focus of the WSF is strategic — how to build the global struggle while remaining a “network of networks;” how to become even more inclusive and democratic while remaining effective; how to improve relationships between different segments of the movement: political parties and civil society; the “old institutions” and the “new movements;” the North and the South. And while the discussion in these workshops is (mostly) polite and forward-looking, there are strong disagreements just below the surface.

The example of the three-day World Parliamentary Forum, which started the day before the WSF.s official opening, is probably indicative. Delegates were able to achieve consensus on the Middle East (no to the war against Iraq; yes to Israel leaving Palestine), on international trade negotiations (no to GATS, TRIPS and FTAA; yes to the Tobin Tax), and various international issues (a negotiated peace in Colombia, support for Bolivian peasants, end the Cuban trade embargo, self-determination in the Sahel). But when confronted with the question of how to reconcile political parties and social movements, they could do no better than state that the debate is important and that the discussion during the forum “is offered as an element in that debate.”

At WSF sessions, deep suspicion has been expressed over the potential of traditional governments to effect real change.

Speaking at a Saturday afternoon session on “new dimensions of the democratic state,” U.S. anti-poverty activist, political essayist and social critic Barbara Ehrenreich suggested that the left, at least in her country, may need to rethink its historic strategy of calling on the government to provide more services. Despite right-wing rhetoric, she said, “the government is not getting smaller; only social programs are getting smaller. But the law enforcement, military and policing sector has continued to expand.”

“Morally we have no choice but to oppose a government which not only threatens the world but also its own women and children.”

Italian peace activist Lisa Clark expressed her sense of betrayal by the political left in her country. “There was a total cop-out of the political left,” she said. “We finally managed to elect a left-wing government and that government lead the country into war with Kosovo [in 1999].”

However, she said, the solution is not to abandon politics but rather to affirm it in its positive sense, as popular control rather than economic control. “We must put politics back in charge of the world.”

The Council of Canadians’ Maude Barlow, speaking yesterday evening at a different panel, also expressed caution about trusting governments. “It is heartening to be here [in Brazil] in the first year that Lula is president,” she said, “but it is disheartening to know that the Brazilian finance minister is willing to consider privatizing this country’s water.”

Long-time anti-globalization activist Susan George, speaking on the same panel, said that it would be a mistake for the WSF movement to attempt to turn itself into a political party in any country. It is necessary to work to elect progressive governments, she said, but it is also necessary to maintain an active civil society to keep those governments honest.

Rici Lake is a Canadian activist currently living in Perú where he works for an international NGO. Watch for more rabble in Brazil — voices from Porto Alegre, this week on rabble.

www.granma.cu Havana. January 26,  2003

CRITICISM of the U.S. administration’s aggressive policy were heard in all the political activities taking place at the 3rd World Social Forum in Porto Alegre where, since before the event’s opening march, there have been constant attacks on the President George W. Bush’s military threats and preparations.

The possibility of a U.S. war on Iraq and its pernicious international consequences are among the main concerns of the 100,000-plus social activists, intellectuals and representatives of political organizations and institutions attending the forum.

Other issues of concern include the neoliberal globalization process to the benefit of the large transnationals, the Free Trade Treaty of the Americas (FTAA) and the external debt.

Referring to the globalization phenomenon, Juan Somavía, secretary general of the International Labor Organization (ILO) affirmed: “Just as the Latin American dictatorships were eradicated one day, globalization too can be changed.” The ILO leader took part in one of the events within the forum, which initiated its debates yesterday and continues until next Tuesday.

The welcoming addresses made reference to an issue that has caused disagreement: the transfer of the World Social Forum to India. Both Joao Verie, the mayor of Porto Alegre, and the governor of the state of Río Grande do Sul lamented that decision, while stating that they would welcome the fourth forum if anything prevented it taking place in India.

In any event, in 2005 Porto Alegre will one again be the venue of this international meeting of social groups, international organizations and progressive and international parties.

THE WORLD IS MISTAKEN

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, reiterated in Porto Alegre that he is to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos to state that the world is mistaken, that the political economy is not working well and that the world needs peace, not war. “I cannot miss the opportunity to speak on a global platform to say those things directly,” he added.

In a meeting attended by more than 100 leaders of NGO’S and social movements from all over the world, the Brazilian president stressed that he believes in promoting South American integration.

Meanwhile, in Davos, the possibility of a war against Iraq unleashed by the United States loomed over the opening of the World Economic Council. The issue was mentioned in the opening ceremony by Pascal Couchepin, the Swiss president, and Mahatir bin Mohammed, head of the Malaysian government, who alerted the meeting to the consequences of military action against Iraq. The Malaysian prime minister affirmed that such aggression would result in the death of many innocent people, which would anger many Muslims.

Throughout the Friday session further concerns on the possibility of the war were heard in the speeches of figures with different positions in terms of international events, such as Shimon Peres, former prime minister of Israel; Recep Tayyip, leader of the government party in Turkey; Zoran Djindjic, the prime minister of Serbia; and Salam Fayyard, the Palestinian finance minister.

www.granma.cu Havana. January 26,  2003 • Affirms Lula to tens of thousands attending the 3rd World Social Forum

“WHATEVER is, whatever happens, I will try to fulfill every word promised in the government program that elected me as president of the Republic of this country,” declared Brazil’s leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, addressing tens of thousands of participants in the 3rd World Social Forum at Porto Alegre.

Acclaimed by crowds, Lula warned that governing is like undertaking a Marathon, in that one cannot start at 80 kilometers per hour but take solid, concrete steps in order to complete the mandate with the security of having kept ones word. He went on to allude to the strategy he plans to develop in the international context and added that it would be good to say to the rich nations that instead of producing and wasting money on so many weapons, they should invest those resources in producing beans and rice to kill people’s hunger.

In reference to the possibility of a military conflict, he referred to the trillions of dollars that would be wasted on such a war, with soldiers killing other soldiers, killing innocent people, and, close to here, he stressed, “there are children who look up to beg a plate of food that in many cases is thrown away and not given to them.”

Speaking to Brazilians and the rest of the 100,000-plus participants from more than 100 countries in the Forum, he promised he would not fail them nor leave undone the things that have to be done. He also announced that he is hoping to make his contribution to helping other comrades win elections in other countries, so that the people, for once and for all, begin to elect persons of greater sensibility, who believe it is possible to change the history of humanity.

www.smh.com.au January 27 2003

US Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Saddam Hussein today of having clear links with the al-Qaeda network, in an address to the World Economic Forum in Washington. And he said the US had a sovereign right to attack Iraq for failing to account for weapons of mass destruction.

"The more we wait, the more chance there is for this dictator with clear ties to terrorist groups including al-Qaeda to pass a weapon, share technology or use these weapons again," he said.

The US Secretary of State did not elaborate on the issue or provide any details on a connection between Iraq and Osama bin Laden's network in his address, which focused on Iraq's weapons program.

"The nexus of tyrants and terror, of terrorists and weapons of mass terror, is the greatest danger of our age," Powell warned.

In the speech, Powell stepped up pressure on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying Iraq had not complied with a UN resolution demanding that Baghdad expose and dismantle any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

He warned that the US was prepared to take military action against Iraq on its own if it did not comply now.

His comments came as the newspaper of Iraq's ruling Baath party today advised the Iraqi people to be prepared for martyrdom in the event of a US-led invasion.

Babil newspaper, run by President Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, claimed the Iraqi people and their armed forces were prepared to die for a "just cause" and warned of heavy casualties for an invading force.

US and British soldiers would face the choice of "withdrawing from the battlefield or returning home in bodybags", the newspaper predicted.

The paper said Iraqis should be prepared for great sacrifices to defend "their dignity, independence and security".

In his address, Powell said: "We continue to reserve our sovereign right to take military action on Iraq alone or in a coalition of the willing," Powell told the gathering of global political and business leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"This is not about (UN weapons) inspectors finding smoking guns. It is about Iraq's failure to tell the inspectors where to find its weapons of mass terror."

"There's no indication whatever that Iraq has made the strategic decision to come clean and comply with its international obligations to disarm."

Debates at the week-long forum on global economic and political problems have been overshadowed by the threat of a US-led war on Iraq and the political and economic damage it could create.

Powell's hard-hitting comments today provoked criticism from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Amnesty International, pessimism from King Abdullah II of Jordan and praise from US businessmen.

"Conflicts should be solved politically and within the United Nations," insisted Lula, at the start of much-awaited speech on a "fairer world economic order".

"We are looking for peaceful solutions to international conflict. Peace is not only a moral objective, it is a rational one," he said.

But Jordan's King Abdullah II later said in Davos he believed it was now too late to find a peaceful outcome to the crisis between the US and Iraq.

And the head of rights group Amnesty International, Irene Khan, warned "military action could easily precipitate a ... humanitarian nightmare".

"It's too late for a diplomatic solution. It will be very difficult to find dialogue, a peaceful solution to the crisis," King Abdullah said.

"Whatever happens, I hope it is as quick and painless as possible."

Powell's speech met with a standing ovation from the first 10 rows of his audience, which were packed with US politicians and executives. The rest of the large conference hall stayed seated.

The extent to which Iraq dominated proceedings in Davos sparked irritation from the chairman of Unilever, Niall FitzGerald.

"Iraq will come and it will go. Trade will be with us for ever," he told a meeting on the forthcoming Cancun round of world trade liberalisation negotiations.

Brazil's culture minister, singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil, told reporters he hoped next year's Davos forum would be free of war and could concentrate on solutions to the "crisis in the European model, the American model and the weakened United Nations".

On the US threat to attack Iraq, said: "It's an isolationist position which many countries are complaining about."

AFP and DPA

news.ft.com By Ed Crooks in Davos and Raymond Colitt in Porto Alegre Published: January 26 2003 21:56 | Last Updated: January 26 2003 22:27

Brazil's president on Sunday won a warm reception from business people and bankers at the World Economic Forum for a speech that mixed praise for free markets and trade with vows to attack poverty and hunger.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's address reflected his need to reassure financial markets spooked by his leftwing reputation, while sticking to his promises to help the 45m Brazilians living below the poverty line.

He repeated his call, made on Friday in a speech to anti-globalisation activists at the "anti-Davos", the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, for a "new world economic order". He described agricultural land reform as "urgent", and said there was a need for "more discipline" in international capital flows. But he promised "an extraordinary effort to expand our trade, especially exports", and said foreign capital should be used to help finance infrastructure spending.

Mr Lula da Silva also proposed a new fund, backed by the Group of Seven rich countries, to tackle poverty in the developing world. It was greeted with scepticism, but demonstrated his ambition to give Brazil a bigger international role. "Brazil is a sleeping giant. We should awaken this giant so we should be respected all round the world," he said. He promised to put his experience as a trade unionist to use in a tough negotiating stance in world trade talks.

In spite of proposing a new economic order to an audience of some of the biggest beneficiaries of the existing one, his address was greeted with thunderous applause and scattered cheering. He was handed a T-shirt showing him as Asterix, the plucky Gaul holding out against the Roman empire.

On Friday, Mr Lula da Silva had defended his visit to Davos to thousands of social activists in Porto Alegre. "Many people in Davos don't like me without knowing me. So I make a point of going there to say the same thing I would tell anyone of you here," he said. His decision to go to Davos had triggered criticism among his more radical leftwing supporters; since its creation the Porto Alegre meeting has been backed by his Workers' party (PT).

Yet Mr Lula da Silva also told the activists that not all problems could be blamed on an inequitable world economic order. "We are poor. Part of the fault may lie with the rich nations. But partially the fault may lie with part of the South American elite," he said.

The president acknowledged the enormous expectations that his government had created not only at home but for Latin America's left and for Socialists around the world. He called on supporters to have patience. "A good coach is not one who begins winning but ends winning a game. I have four years to proceed calmly and cautiously."

This week Mr Lula da Silva will pursue his campaign for hearts and minds, meeting heads of government in Berlin and Paris.

Caio Koch-Weser, Germany's state secretary of finance, said Mr Lula da Silva had "a good message". "The key is that the reform momentum gets the benefit of the enormous credibility that the president brings, but it's a strong team and a strong start," he said. "So far, so good, and the market is already honouring what they have done: [interest rate] spreads are down, and the Real [the currency] is up."