www.alertnet.org 24 Jan 2003 02:02

(Recasts with march, adds quotes) By Nicholas Winning

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Thousands of people from across the globe marched for peace and more socially inclusive economic growth on Thursday to mark the opening day of the third annual World Social Forum in southern Brazil.

"I'm here as this is an expression of a movement that is worldwide ... the movement against (U.S. President George W.) Bush's war is worldwide," said 59-year-old British university lecturer Mike Gonzalez before his voice was drowned out by drums of the procession.

Earlier, WSF organizing committee member Francisco Whitaker declared the event open to a roar of applause from an auditorium packed with representatives from hundreds of grass-roots organizations and publications.

"I welcome government authorities, those people who do not consider themselves authorities and those who are against the authorities," Joao Verle, the mayor of Porto Alegre, told the opening ceremony before calling for "a vigorous demonstration against war and for peace."

Police captain Vanderley da Rosa said 150,000 people had turned out to take part in the procession through the heart of this southern Brazilian city, more than the double the 60,000 who took part in the event last year.

Organizers expect 100,000 people to attend the speeches, discussions, and workshops of the WSF, designed as an alternative to the long-running World Economic Forum, a meeting of the world's power brokers that also began Thursday in Davos, Switzerland.

"IT REMINDS ME OF THE SEVENTIES"

Protests against a U.S.-led military conflict in Iraq were the main order of the day, but other groups chanted for better agricultural workers' land rights, an end to the Palestinian conflict, and better treatment of retirees.

Others chanted for better medication for AIDS sufferers, and against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, an ambitious plan to drop trade barriers from the top of Alaska to the tip of Argentina which some Brazilians believe is a U.S. device to subjugate the region.

Banners read "No to debt and the FTAA", and the obligatory, "Make love, not war". A large group of Palestinians and sympathizers carried a huge Palestinian flag over their heads.

Goatees, tee-shirts emblazoned with the face of Che Guevarra, and sandals were everywhere, as were the innumerable beer and soft-drink sellers which appear whenever there is a public event in Brazil.

"It reminds me of the seventies," said 51-yar-old academic Mark Methven.

A speech on Friday by recently elected left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a champion of social issues and a regular at the past two forums, promises to be the highlight of the six-day event.

So much so that the mention of his name at the opening ceremony set off a soccer-like chant of "Ole-ole-Lula-Lula".

A large U.S. contingent filled with the "Who's Who" of the left, such as political activist Noam Chomsky and socially conscious actors like Danny Glover are also here to rally under the WSF slogan of "Another World is Possible."

Other high profile guests at the WSF to exchange ideas on themes including democratic sustainable development and human rights include Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, former Portuguese Prime Minister Mario Soares, and a slew of writers and authors who have made a name attacking globalization.

Lula, a former union leader of humble origins, is also due to fly to attend the Davos summit. The trip has put a few die-hard left-wing noses out of joint, but there was little sign of resentment at the march where one banner read, "Davos give up! Lula is one of us".

www.voanews.com VOA News 24 Jan 2003, 02:30 UTC

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is in its second day Friday, overshadowed by economic uncertainty and worries about a possible U.S.-led war in Iraq.

On the opening day Thursday, global business and political leaders at the forum warned that a conflict could jeopardize already slim chances for recovery in financial markets.

One financial analyst (Peter Cornelius) said a drawn-out war will have negative long-term effects on areas such as oil prices, but that a short conflict could actually improve world markets.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sharply criticized the United States for its plans for war with Iraq, saying such military action will only create more anger against the United States and unleash attempts at revenge and retaliation.

The host of the forum, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin, said U.S. military force must only be used as a last resort.

The forum's founder and director, Klaus Schwab, said never in the event's 33-year history has the world been so fragile, complex and dangerous.

About 2,300 delegates from 104 countries are participating in the 33rd annual World Economic Forum, which ends on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, thousands of anti-globalization activists in Brazil are holding their third annual World Social Forum to protest the Davos meeting. As many as 100,000 activists are expected to attend the six-day forum in Porto Alegre.

Brazil's first elected leftist leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is expected to speak on hunger and poverty in upcoming days at the Davos forum. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to address the forum on Sunday.

Swiss officials have mounted a $10 million security operation at the event. They closed the airspace over Davos and deployed hundreds of police officers and 2,000 troops to guard the ski resort.

news.ft.com By Raymond Colitt Published: January 23 2003 19:02 | Last Updated: January 23 2003 19:02

When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrives in southern Brazil's balmy Porto Alegre on Friday to address the World Social Forum he will have two speeches - and a set of winter clothes - but a single policy agenda in his bags.

Following what promises to be a heated anti-globalisation gathering, Mr Lula da Silva will be off to the the Swiss Alps to address the global economic policymakers who are the focus of rage at the "anti- Davos" in Brazil.

The unprecedented move is indicative of how Mr Lula da Silva has been straddling two opposite worlds of economic and political thought since elected president of Latin America's largest country three months ago.

At home he is seeking to balance demands for radical social change with economic austerity - for example, by pursuing fiscal discipline but trying to improve the efficiency of social spending.

Mr Lula da Silva's government has so far defied the traditional labels of Latin America regimes. "It is a type of neo-socialism anchored in economic orthodoxy," says Carlos Langoni, head of the Rio de Janeiro-based centre of global economy at the FGV, a think-tank and business school.

Mr Lula da Silva's first foreign policy initiatives have mirrored this dichotomy, pursuing a more assertive defence of trade interests and regional leadership but seeking to maintain good relations with Washington and multilateral agencies.

He has been sympathetic to Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's embattled president, and has sent fuel to ease the effect of the ongoing oil strike designed to force Mr Chávez out of office. Yet he denied Mr Chávez's request to exclude the US or include more pro-Chávez countries in the "group of friends" that hopes to promote negotiations for a peaceful solution to Venezuela's crisis.

Mr Lula da Silva talks tough on trade, is friendly with Fidel Castro and eager to rebuild Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, but is ready to negotiate on free trade with US, Europe and within the World Trade Organisation.

Those gathered in Porto Alegre and Davos have big expectations of Mr Lula da Silva. To many in southern Brazil's port city, the former union leader embodies their struggle for a more just world economic order. In Davos, international investors encouraged by early signs of economic orthodoxy remain cautious and will want to see more action to follow good intentions.

Mr Lula da Silva will have treats for both audiences. Pledges of property titles for shanty dwellers and food for the poor will be music to the ears of peasant and homeless movements, including France's José Bové and the MST, the Brazilian landless movement that is one of Mr Lula da Silva's more radical sources of support.

In Davos, Mr Lula da Silva and his economic team will be talking up their plans, which include far-reaching reforms to make Brazil more efficient and business more competitive. Antonio Palocci, finance minister, will be taking the message to bankers, investors, and Anne Krueger of the International Monetary Fund.

But Mr Lula da Silva's two-pronged approach will certainly disappoint hardliners on either side of the Atlantic. "We would prefer he didn't go to Davos," says Atila Roque, one of the organisers of the event. "Lula is more important than Davos, he's a leader who embodies many of the core values of the forum."

Colleagues in his leftwing Workers' party (PT) reverted to class struggle rhetoric to defend the president's rapprochement with the bourgeoisie. "Lenin said that the proletariat should not refuse any audience to expose its ideas," said Marta Suplicy, São Paulo's PT mayor.

In Davos Mr Lula da Silva will talk not only business but also inequality. Pharmaceutical companies can expect his government to relaunch Brazil's fight for more flexible drug patent laws to benefit the world's developing countries.

Mr Lula da Silva will also expound his ideas on a new social contract between capital and labour. "Lula is the spokesperson of inequality," said Luiz Furlan, trade minister and the principal proponent of the president's visit to Davos. "His legitimacy comes from his [impoverished] origin and not the office he holds."

Mr Lula da Silva "will defend his own particular, pragmatic line of government," says Antônio Corrêa de Lacerda, who heads the society for the study of multinational companies. "His presence in both forums signals the willingness for dialogue. This is one of the president's strong points."

His government opens "a promising political alternative in a subcontinent frustrated that democracy and a decade of economic liberalisation have not brought more prosperity and social justice," Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, argued recently. "If Lula succeeds . . . he will forge a new model for the

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.22.03, 10:51 AM ET

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras <PETR4.SA>(nyse: PBR - news - people) said on Wednesday that economist Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo had been named the company's new financial director.

In a statement, Petrobras said Gabrielli will be officially nominated for the post at a board meeting on Jan. 31, and that he would start work on Feb. 1.

Gabrielli will replace Joao Pinheiro Nogueira Batista, who has said he is stepping down for personal reasons.

Gabrielli holds a doctorate in economics from Boston University and has worked as a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

He also has an extensive background in Brazilian academia, mainly in the economics department at the Federal University of Bahia, where he did his undergraduate work.

Gabrielli will report to Petrobras' recently installed president, Jose Eduardo Dutra, who was appointed earlier this month by Brazil's new left-leaning president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Some investors have been concerned that under the Lula administration Petrobras might be turned from a corporation successfully competing with world oil majors abroad into a source of financing for pet political projects, losing its newly won pricing independence and high profits.

Dutra, however, has said the company would maintain its investment plans and continue to put profits high on the agenda, helping to ease investors' fears of late.

Petrobras shares were down 3.31 percent at 48.20 reais in early-afternoon trading, underperforming the broader market, which was down 1.5 percent.

www.latintrade.com 01/22/2003 - Source: Latin American Newsletters

The new Brazilian transport minister Anderson Adauto has been accused of involvement in an embezzlement scandal. Adauto belongs to the Partido Liberal (PL), the party of Brazil's Vice-President.

Adauto is accused of being part of a group that embezzled R$4m (US$1.2m) from the municipal government of Itaruma in Minas Gerais. He was summonsed by President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva today to explain himself. Yet, even before the meeting, Lula's spokesman, André Singer, told reporters that Adauto would not be sacked or be forced to resign, a message that officials confirmed last night.

Adauto, who became transport minister at the beginning of the month, says the allegations come from those angry at his recent decision to spend R$5bn (US$1.5bn) on roadbuilding projects and call in the army to audit and manage the programme.

The PL is a small centre-right party with strong links to the evangelical movement. Lula, who belongs to the leftwing Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), tried to form an alliance with the PL in order to increase his appeal to the middle class.