Porto Alegre,31st January 2002
The World Social Forum II has begun in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Tens of thousands of activists attended coming from all the continents.
The same day a huge demonstration of 50.000 workers, youth, activists organized by CUT, the Co-Federation of Trade Unions of Brazil, took place in the center of the city. The main slogans were against ALCA- FTAA(Free Trade Area of Americas),against the war and for solidarity to the revolt in Argentina. Also many Brazilian demonstrators had changed the main slogan of the Forum Another World is Possible into Another World is Possible-the world of Socialism. A big contingent of the Argentinean Left took part, including two hundreds of comrades of the Partido Obrero. ATTAC and the organizers of the WSF initially had opposed this demonstration but finally they accepted its inclusion in the first day of the proceedings of the WSF II.
In general there is a sharp contradiction between the popular massesή radicalism, particularly from Brazil and |Latin America attending this event and the very right wing orientation of the organizers of the World Social Forum. Even among the organizers there are a lot of disagreements, particularly on the question of War in Afganistan. The fist day there was an argument between Bernard Cassin of ATTAC-France and the Italian Social Forum, the latter accusing the French to not oppose the war in Afghanistan as the Italians did; so they asked that the Conference of the Social Forum in Europe should take place in Italy, not in France.( ATTAC-Germany and ATTAC-Sweden had supported the imperialist war).
Undoubtedly the contradictions will develop further during the meeting of Porto Alegre
Later a big political- cultural event marked the official opening of the WSFII with a direct link with the organizers of the demonstration of 5.000 in New York against the World Economic Forum.
Saturday February the 2nd a demonstration in solidarity to Argentina will take place organized also by CUT.
EEK-delegation. λυπούμαστε δεν προλάβαμε να το μεταφράσουμε _________________________________________________________________
Mετάφραση
από μεταφρ. 02/02/2002 1:02 μμ.