March for Economic Justice in Brazil
www.guardian.co.uk Thursday January 23, 2003 11:30 PM
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) - Anti-globalization activists banged drums, yelled anti-war slogans and danced the samba at the start of the World Social Forum on Thursday, the third annual summit of protests and talks on ways to limit the excesses of global capitalism.
An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 red-shirted protesters gathered to open the event, waving banners decrying a possible U.S.-led war in Iraq and U.S. efforts to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas stretching from Alaska to Argentina by 2005.
No to Bush!'' they shouted, switching gears to sing samba and Cuba's well-known folk song, Guantanamera.''
Organizers predicted a turnout of 100,000 activists in this port city of 1.2 million in southern Brazil for the six-day forum, held as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum taking place simultaneously at the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos.
At least 2,000 police were on hand to keep order. Military police captain Joao Carlos Gomes said no major disturbances were expected.
With lectures from globalization critics and more than 1,700 seminars and workshops, the forum seeks to change the perceived ills of capitalism, including foreign debt and unfair global trade that favor rich, industrialized nations and multinational corporations.
``Because of global poverty, the system does not recognize the right of every human being to succeed and have access to services and goods,'' said Riccardo Petrella, a business professor and globalization expert at the Catholic University at Louvain, Belgium.
Participants include intellectuals, celebrities and activists ranging from American anarchist and linguist Noam Chomsky and actor Danny Glover to Aleida Guevara, the Cuban daughter of legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara.
Jose Bove, a farmer who became famous in 1999 when he and nine others used farm equipment to dismantle a French McDonald's under construction, said he has no plans to disrupt the forum like he did in 2001 - with an invasion of a farm owned by Monsanto, the U.S. agricultural giant.
Also present is a faction of left-wing politicians from Spain, Italy and France - traditional skeptics of U.S.-inspired free market capitalism.
Italian biologist Umberto Pizzolato toted his bicycle to Porto Alegre and planned to ride it during the march to send a message of ``Less oil, more bicycles, less war.''
If you use a car, your country has to buy oil,'' he said. And with less oil, there would be fewer conflicts.''
President Bush is being criticized extensively because activists say he personifies their darkest fears - capitalism benefiting huge corporations and war with Iraq to guarantee developed countries get the oil they need.
The forum, which previously shunned government leaders, has a white knight in Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Brazil's first elected leftist leader. Silva arrives in Porto Alegre Thursday night and will speak Friday. Embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected Sunday.
After speaking, Silva flies to Davos to participate in the economic forum.
Silva's decision to mingle with the rich and powerful in Davos has angered some activists here. They see his Switzerland trip as kowtowing to international financiers seeking reassurances Silva will maintain austere fiscal policies for South America's largest economy.
But Silva issued a statement Thursday saying he is going to Davos to ``show that another world is possible,'' quoting a popular phrase coined at the social forum.
Davos must listen to Porto Alegre,'' Silva said. In the same way that Brazil needs a new social contract, a new world contract is needed to reduce the gap between rich and poor nations.''
A worker taking orders for Big Macs at a Porto Alegre McDonald's Thursday wasn't worried about possible attacks by radical groups against one of America's biggest corporate symbols abroad.
Everything's calm,'' said Monica Gomes. There's been a lot of foreigners here for the forum ordering food.''