www.ipsnews.net Mario Osava

The international board of the World Social Forum (WSF) decided Wednesday that the giant annual meeting of social activists and left-leaning political leaders and academics will be held in India in 2004, before returning to Brazil the following year.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Jan 22 (IPS) - The international board of the World Social Forum (WSF) decided Wednesday that the giant annual meeting of social activists and left-leaning political leaders and academics will be held in India in 2004, before returning to Brazil the following year. The process of selecting the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, which hosted the regional Asian Social Forum Jan 2-7, as the site of the fourth WSF involved lengthy discussions because the organisers in India had asked for one month to assess whether they were in a position to take on the enormous responsibility. But in the end, the aim of ''internationalising'' the forum by holding some of the meetings in other regions won out. Porto Alegre, where the first two meetings were held, will continue to be the host every other year. The third WSF opens Thursday with an inaugural ceremony and a massive march through the streets of Porto Alegre, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, which will kick off five days of panels and workshops on the pressing problems facing today's world and on how to build a better future for humanity. One novel aspect will be the presence of Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former steelworker, on Friday. This will be the first time that a head of government or state addresses the gathering of social movements, non-governmental organisations, and leftist political parties and academics. Lula took part in and spoke at the first two meetings in Porto Alegre, but he did so as the head of the leftist Workers' Party (PT) and possible presidential candidate for the October 2002 elections that he ended up winning in a landslide victory. This time around he will be speaking as president of this South American country of 170 million, in the midst of a controversy over his decision to also attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. His plans to participate in the WEF on Saturday and Sunday drew fire from many people taking part in the WSF, which emerged precisely as a sort of counterpoint to the annual meeting of the world's most powerful business and political leaders in Switzerland. Unlike the first two editions, the WSF was preceded this year by a series of preparatory gatherings, held in the past five months. For instance, Argentina held a Thematic Social Forum in August, the European Social Forum took place in Florence, Italy in November, the Asian Social Forum was held in early January, and the Pan-Amazon Social Forum took place in Belém, in northern Brazil, on Jan 16-19. In addition, three events held in the run-up to the WSF ended Wednesday in Porto Alegre. One of them was the World Economic Forum, which drew 20,000 educators and experts from around the globe Sunday through Wednesday, who took part in 60 panels, seminars and debates that discussed 785 papers on experiences and innovations in education and heard more than 200 speakers. The ''decolonisation'' of education, popular education, democratic participation, and the effects of armed conflicts on schools in Angola, southern Mexico and Colombia were several of the subjects discussed at the gathering, which was held for the second year in a row as part of the WSF. The third Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion, which brought together around 1,000 mayors and other participants from 26 countries on Tuesday and Wednesday, called for ''contracts'' between governments and civil society to tackle serious problems like lack of access to health care and education. Among the proposals set forth by the meeting was the drawing up of an ''Agenda 21'' for cities, in favour of the development of culture and the creation of an international network that would link all mayors' associations in a single global movement. Culture should be viewed as ''a basic social necessity'' based on the recognition of diversity, the right to identity by all ethnic and social groups, and the right to recreation, education and the use of public spaces, said Margarete Moraes, culture secretary of the city of Porto Alegre. The deepening of participative democracy in municipal governments was advocated by Portuguese sociologist Boaventua de Sousa Santos and mayors like Bernard Birsinger of Bobigny, France, and Edmilson Rodrigues of the northern Brazilian city of Belém. Judges also held their second global forum Monday through Wednesday, with the presence of 510 members of the judiciaries of countries in the Americas and Europe. The speakers underscored the need for regional and international courts, due to the frequent clash between the interests of transnational corporations (TNCs) and human rights. The judges pointed, for example, to the frequent disregard of the environment by TNCs when conservation efforts cut into their profit margins. In addition, they said that respect for citizen rights required the real possibility of taking TNCs to court. Only truly independent judges aware of their role in society can exercise the law in such a way as to check the advance of the political and economic powers, the magistrates said in their final declaration, which called a new meeting in Brazil next year. Two other global gatherings, of trade unionists and parliamentarians, began Wednesday. Around 600 labour activists are discussing the challenges of globalisation in their first two-day meeting organised in Porto Alegre by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the World Confederation of Labour, and the European Trade Union Confederation. Meanwhile, legislators from around the world are holding their third meeting parallel to the WSF, which will run through Friday, and the World Farmworkers Assembly is taking place Tuesday through Thursday. Finally, the Intercontinental Youth Camp and the World Junior Forum have drawn youngsters from all over the world. Organising the WSF and the parallel and national or regional gatherings is a gargantuan task involving fund-raising efforts by many organisations around the world that have scarce finances, especially since the number of participants in the WSF has basically doubled each year. This year more than 100,000 people are expected, since 30,000 delegates and 70,000 participants have signed up. The organising costs will run to nearly 3.5 million dollars, said Candido Grzybowski, one of the members of the Brazilian organising committee. Only 800,000 dollars are coming from the registration fees paid by participants, he added. The governments of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and Porto Alegre are donating a total of 600,000 dollars, the Ford Foundation has provided 500,000 dollars, and the state-owned Bank of Brazil and Petrobras oil company are donating 400,000 dollars. (END)

www.voanews.com VOA News 23 Jan 2003, 13:12 UTC

The World Economic Forum has opened in Davos, Switzerland, as business and political leaders from across the globe discuss such issues as corporate ethics, terrorism and Iraq.

The six-day meeting is being held amid tight security to protect high profile guests. Jordan's King Abdullah, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell are all scheduled to attend. Participants are expected to discuss the global effects of the corporate scandals that plagued the business world last year. They will also examine the effects of the international war on terrorism and the possibility of a U.S.-led war in Iraq.

The annual forum in Davos coincides with the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. There, as many as 100,000 anti-globalization advocates are expected to discuss the financial problems of the developing world, threats to the environment and human rights issues.

Brazil's new president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, is expected to attend both events to deliver speeches on hunger and poverty.

asia.cnn.com As many as 100,000 activists expected to attend Thursday, January 23, 2003 Posted: 8:54 PM HKT (1254 GMT)

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) -- Globalization foes were flocking to Brazil for the World Social Forum, the annual protest against the World Economic Forum held simultaneously at a Swiss ski resort.

The six-day event begins Thursday in the far southern city of Porto Alegre. As many as 100,000 activists are expected to attend from countries as diverse as Egypt, India and the United States.

The third annual social forum was featuring Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- the country's first elected leftist leader who on Friday will become the first government leader ever to personally address the forum. Government officials previously had been excluded.

Silva will then fly to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the economic forum, which is expected to attract 2,000 business and government leaders.

The landslide election of Silva, a former radical union leader, in October was seen as a rejection of the free-market policies of his predecessor Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Social forum participants say their opposition to unfettered American-style capitalism should strike a responsive chord this year. The summit follows a year of unprecedented business scandals involving multinational corporations, many of them with headquarters in the United States.

"Washington always preaches to the developing world about eliminating corruption and the rule of law," said Mark Weisbrot, an economist who co-directs the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. "Here you see the United States has experienced corruption that is worse than anything in developing countries."

Variety of themes up for discussion

Participants will crowd into a soccer stadium and Porto Alegre's Catholic University for hundreds of panel discussions, debates and seminars on themes ranging from corporate misdeeds to the Third World's foreign debt.

They can also dance at a concert by Brazilian pop superstar Jorge Ben Jor, attend Japanese Noh theater presentations or even see a drag queen show.

Prominent activists attending the forum include actor Danny Glover, anarchist and linguistics professor Noam Chomsky and Aleida Guevara, the daughter of legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

French anti-globalization activist Jose Bove said Wednesday he had no plans to create disruption as he did at the first forum in 2001 -- when he led the invasion and occupation of a farm owned by U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto. Brazil made him leave the country.

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 there's no need now that Silva is in power.

"Things have changed in Brazil," he said.

Activists also are using the forum as a way to draw media attention to their opposition to a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq.

People at the economic forum in Davos should take notice because the world economy will suffer if President Bush decides to attack, said Rainer Rilling, a German social sciences professor with the Berlin-based Rosa Luxembourg Foundation. "We hope a war can still be avoided."

www.oneworld.net Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 22 (IPS) - Rampant corruption is increasingly undermining the credibility of democracy and politics in Latin America, although some countries have made progress against the scourge, Transparency International (TI) stated in its latest report, released Wednesday.

The Global Corruption Report 2003 by the Berlin-based international anti-corruption network warned that like last year, respondents to surveys and polls continue to ''view South America as one of the most -- if not the most -- corruption-plagued regions in the world.''

Nor have Central America, Mexico or the Caribbean made much headway against the corrupt, which has led to a deepening lack of public confidence in democracy and the political system, said TI.

But on a more upbeat tone, the report stated that ''The corrupt are running out of places to hide from courageous whistleblowers and journalists'' in today's world, due to a more effective press, quicker and more fluent information flows, and the determined action of civil society organizations.

The report's chapter on South America indicated that the region ''has been racked in recent months by economic crisis, social unrest and popular rejection of the region's political leaders.

''The persistent scourge of corruption in South America has nourished the roots of this discontent'' and ''graft has contributed to the (region's) economic problems,'' it added.

Continuous corruption scandals, in the midst of economic crisis, have eroded the credibility of the region's institutions and the already fragile public confidence in the political system, said the study, which is based on surveys and polls carried out in the region.

One of the surveys cited, conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank, found that public dissatisfaction with economic reforms in the region was growing, particularly among the middle class, and that only one out of two respondents said they believed democracy was the best form of government.

But despite the disenchantment with democracy, TI reported that there have been advances in the fight against corruption in the region, due to efforts by governments, civil society, and especially the press, in spite of the intimidation and aggression of which journalists are often the targets.

The Global Corruption Report 2003 also noted that multilateral financial institutions and donors have become more cautious about providing funds to governments under suspicion of corruption, and have been earmarking more funds to programs that emphasize government transparency.

The Organization of American States (OAS) began to monitor compliance with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption last year, drawing up evaluation reports ''to pressure governments to change or improve aspects that analysts consider unsatisfactory.''

The South American regional chapter of the TI report underlined the efforts made by Peru, especially with respect to investigations into the case of Vladimiro Montesinos, ex-president Alberto Fujimori's (1990-2000) former intelligence chief.

Peruvian authorities arrested Montesinos in June 2001, and he is in jail facing 60 separate lawsuits. In addition, officials were able to recover part of the money deposited in Swiss bank accounts, the product of graft and other forms of corruption in which the network headed by Montesinos engaged.

TI observed that more than 240 investigations, involving over 1,300 people, were under way in Peru into acts of corruption committed during the ''Fujimori-Montesinos era.''

According to ''preliminary findings'', Fujimori -- who is living in Japan -- may have stolen more than 180 million dollars from the public coffers, said the report.

Nevertheless, the investigations have done little to restore Peruvian society's confidence in its leaders, said TI, which pointed out that ''surveys suggest that 75 percent of Peruvians believe that corruption will persist.''

That view may not be unfounded, to judge by accusations that have emerged against President Alejandro Toledo over the way he pushed through the privatization of public enterprises that he had pledged to keep in the hands of the state.

Elsewhere in South America, presidents, ex-presidents and high-level officials are implicated in investigations of corruption.

In Bolivia, officials of the government of the now-deceased Hugo Banzer (1997-2001) face probes and legal action, as do Paraguayan President Luis González Macchi and his predecessor Juan Carlos Wasmosy.

In Argentina, former president Carlos Menem (1989-1999) was held under house arrest for six months in 2001, on charges of illegal sales of arms and money laundering.

Menem is also facing legal proceedings initiated last year for allegedly accepting a 10 million dollar pay-off from the government of Iran to conceal its role in the July 1994 bombing of a Jewish community and medical center in Buenos Aires, in which 87 people were killed.

Domingo Cavallo, who served as economy minister under both Menem and Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001), was also arrested in 2002 in connection with the same illegal arms sale scandal.

But the TI report referred to advances in the fight against corruption launched by president Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1994- 2002) in Brazil.

It warned, however, that most of the Brazilians polled believed corruption was on the rise, a perception that was largely based on accusations of fraud that forced Roseana Sarney from withdrawing as a candidate in the October presidential elections, which were won by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Colombia, meanwhile, ''where a brutal war continues to claim the lives of some 3,500 civilians a year...has suffered the tragic consequences of endemic theft by politicians and public officials for decades,'' said TI.

It pointed out that a World Bank survey released in February 2002 found that ''bribes are paid in 50 percent of all state contracts.''

And while a number of anti-corruption initiatives have been seen in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico, they have brought few results, according to the chapter on that area.

One consequence of fruitless attempts to crack down on corruption and of the broad use of the issue as part of campaign platforms is ''the weakening of people's trust in a democratic regime and in the system of political parties,'' said the report.

TI underlined that Central America ''continues to exhibit asymmetries in corruption.'' While scandals have been ''relatively infrequent in some countries, such as Costa Rica,'' graft has increased in countries like Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Puerto Rico.

But in Mexico, ''important advances'' have been made thanks to the anti-corruption measures adopted by the government of Vicente Fox, according to the report.

Former presidents in Central America are also facing legal proceedings, while presidential candidates who ran on anti- corruption platforms often become the focus of scandals and allegations of the misuse of campaign funds.

On the list of former presidents facing corruption charges are Rafael Callejas of Honduras (1990-1994), Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic (1996-2000), and Oscar Alemán of Nicaragua (1997-2002). TI lamented that their successors have not done much to set themselves apart from that trend.

www.voanews.com VOA News 23 Jan 2003, 15:23 UTC

Global business and political leaders are confronting the issues of slow economic growth and a possible war in Iraq, as the the World Economic Forum opens in Davos, Switzerland.

The chief economist for investment bank Morgan Stanley, Stephen Roach, told the forum Thursday, that the United States, which he called "the engine of the world," is struggling. He says the U.S. economic recovery will continue to be disappointing. Gail Fosler, the chief economist at the Conference Board, a U.S. business group, was more optimistic than Mr. Roach.

She believes there will be a pickup in business investment that will allow the U.S. economy to grow at least three-percent this year. But she warns that there could be an unpredictable affect on consumer confidence from a war in Iraq, especially if chemical weapons are unleashed.

About 2300 delegates from 104 countries are taking part in this year's six-day forum. Switzerland has mounted a $10 million security operation, closing the airspace over Davos and deploying hundreds of police officers and 2,000 troops to guard the ski resort. Separately in Brazil, thousands of anti-globalization activists are meeting for their third annual World Social Forum to protest the Davos summit. As many as 100,000 activists are expected to attend the forum in Porto Alegre. Brazil's first elected leftist leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is expected to speak on the issues of hunger and poverty. He also plans to attend the economic summit in Davos.