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Activists gather for world social forum during economic forum Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2005/01/26/ap1784820.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2005/01/26/ap1784820.html
Associated Press
Activists Gather for World Social Forum
01.26.2005, 07:09 PM
Tens of thousands of anti-globalization activists converged on southern Brazil Wednesday for what has become an annual ritual of opposition to corporate-sponsored capitalism and the divide between the rich and poor nations.
The annual World Social Forum - a lively gathering of protesters where many sleep in tents or modest guest houses - is held simultaneously with the World Economic Forum, a staid gathering of finance ministers and CEOs of major corporations in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Davos.
In Brazil, nearly 6,000 groups will plug their causes at the six-day protest, ranging from debt relief for developing countries to distribution of idle land for impoverished Latin American farmers.
In a new rallying cry this year, some protesters compared unfettered capitalism and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to the tsunami that struck Indian Ocean shores last month, saying the deaths caused in poor countries by First World greed are uncountable.
"It is even more than the numbers killed by the tsunami," said forum organizer Meena Menon, an activist from India.
Activists are also expected to promote a ban on genetically modified crops and decry the war in Iraq, while plugging a multitude of less-prominent causes, such as protections of indigenous tribes threatened by development.
The left-leaning presidents of Brazil and Venezuela are scheduled to address the gathering later this week.
But Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, hailed as a hero in Porto Alegre in 2003, could return to jeers from some activists when he speaks Thursday at a soccer stadium.
Silva took office vowing to improve living conditions millions of poor Brazilians, but the country's first elected leftist leader has so far stuck to orthodox economic policies, paying down foreign debt in lieu of social programs.
And last week, Silva's government acknowledged it fell 30 percent short of its 2004 goal of giving land to 115,000 impoverished families. In response, the Landless Rural Workers' Movement, another forum organizer, promised a wave of protests across Brazil that could result in a new round of land invasions in South America's largest country.
In contrast, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who will address the meeting Sunday, has enforced a 2001 law allowing expropriation of idle agricultural land from large estates.
Oxfam International is using the forum to push for support for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, an effort to persuade the world's richest countries to cancel the debt of poor countries.
"Millions of people are being denied the most basic human needs: Clean water, food, health care and education," said Oxfam spokeswoman Katia Maia. "People are dyeing while leaders delay debt relief and aid."
Organizers of the Social Forum take pride in hosting the event in a developing nation, compared to the site of the Economic Forum in an exclusive resort in one of the world's most expensive countries, saying the contrasting styles underscores their message.
"How much does a lunch cost in Davos?" Grajew asked. "It could pay for a lot in a Brazilian slum. There's so much wealth over there, and so much poverty in the rest of the world."
Next year, organizers plan to replace the gathering in Porto Alegre with a number of smaller forums in different spots around the world. The 2007 event will take place in Africa.
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