Forum Crowd Welcomes Venezuela's Chavez
The Associated Press PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil Jan. 26 —
Venezuelan President Meets Sympathetic Crowd at World Social Forum
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized his opponents Sunday after arriving at the World Social Forum to meet with sympathizers among the 100,000 activists gathered to protest American-style capitalism.
Chavez, who left his country despite a 56-day general strike, lashed out at Venezuelan opposition leaders, predicting they would fail in their bid to oust him from power.
"Our struggle against the terrorists and fascists has further strengthened the will of the Venezuelan people," Chavez said after arriving at this far southern Brazilian port city. "It is one thing to try to get rid of me, and another thing to succeed. I have the popularity to remain in power."
Although Chavez wasn't formally invited to the World Social Forum, a counter-conference to the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland, he was attending some events.
The social forum has shunned government leaders in the past but this year welcomed Brazil's new leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as a keynote speaker.
One of the forum's founders, Oded Grajew, said organizers weren't embarrassed by Chavez' decision to come, but warned the Venezuelan leader not to use the event for self-promotion.
"He will get no sympathy from anyone at the forum if he uses it to capitalize for his own benefit," said Grajew.
Activists at the six-day social forum are participating in 1,700 sessions and workshops on topics ranging from corporate misdeeds to Third World debt.
Also Sunday, an unidentified woman threw a strawberry cake in the face of Jose Genoino, the president of Silva's Workers Party, yelling "Lula does not represent us in Davos."
Silva, who is popularly known as Lula, was criticized by some for going to the economic forum after attending the social forum.
The woman left a statement saying she belonged to a group called "Bakers Without Borders" before fleeing. Genoino called the incident an "act of anarchists," according to Brazil's GloboNews television network.