By our equally broad mobilisations. correspondent Whether any people It is very hard to describe changed their minds in debates I don't know, but something on the scale of the second World Social Forum. many certainly carnea a 101 in the 800 or so workshops. With 15,000 delegates, a simThe coming together of peolar number at the youth ple in these numbers also event and possibly another gave a great boost to morale 30,000 participating which I'm sure went well observers and on demonstrabeyond those present. cons, ll was on une scale 0l a There really is an emerging very successful demonstration that went on for six world-wide opposition to the global bad guys for activists days. The participation was so towards. The high for two reasons. One is Forum's slogan 'Another world is possible could be the scale of popular mobiliseen as weak by many, but it sation in Brasi - over halt is quite apt as a starting point the delegates were Brasilian, when Bush is trying to conand Brasilians were probably vince the world that it has no a higher percentage of the choice. other categories. There were however large The other is the prestige arising from the success of gaps in With the participation large Argentine, the first conference as French and Italian continworld focus of opposition to Agents showing the success of and discussion of imperialist the mobilisers in those counIt was consciously a place tries, they highlighted the weakness from other counof political diversity, where debate and discussion are tries African, Asian and former empnasisea and decisions eastern block participation are restricted to supporting in particular was very weak and must be a question for the organisers of next vear s event (which will be in Porto Alegre). ( There is a movement developing to hold the 2004 conference in India, but also plans for regional events in different parts of the world.
The political diversity represented at the conference was also great. Well known academics such as Chomsky and Bensaid, NGO leaders and activists such as Bové and Susan George rubbed shoulders with leading liberation theologists such as Frei Betto, various Nobel Peace laureates and the complete spread of radical Brasilian workers' and peasant opinion.
Kofi Anan sent a senior official and Mary Robinson, UN Human Rights Commissioner, was main speaker at a scullilal.
Specifically Brasilian events had some impact on the Forum. The very public split between the right wing Workers Party (PT) mayor of Porto Alegre and the Trotskyist PT State Governor dominated the last day's headlines in Brasil.
The mayor launched his campaign to become governor with a scurrilous attack on Trots and Stalinists. Two orner events during the Forum also highlighted the situation in Brasil.
One was the smashing up of the CUT trade union federation's offices in Sao Paulo on the Sunday, and the other ucts in stages, starting from January 2001. By 2004, the average tariff rate on imports will be reduced from the present 20-30% to 14.5-15%.
By 2006, the quota on certain imported agricultural products such as soya oil and vegetable oil will be cancelled, and all tariffs will be uniformly reduced to 9%.
US farmers
The Minister of Agriculture of the USA commented that US farmers will immediately benefit from exporting agricultural goods to China, and it is estimated the annual increase will be US $2 billion. It is also believed that more peasants will be transferring to the urban or industrial sector.
Telecommunications and insurance will be the two major sectors that will be open to foreign capital. was an armed attack on the Forum's cash dispensers, resulting in the death of one robber. The tragic irony of the latter event was lost on nobody. The Fourth International's involvement in the event was impressive. This reflected both the strength of the comrades in Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre is the state capital) and a wider recognition of tucky Fried Regulations restricting their operation by foreign capital have been remOTed That Beaus China could be attracting more foreign capital and investment, providing the ground for activity by global capitalism.
Major state-owned enterprises will also be restructured and shares will be sold foreign investors. Statistics show that by the end of 1999, % of state-owned enterprises had been corporatised. On the other hand, the operating mechanisms of two-thirds of small state-owned enterprises have been changed through shareholding systems, joint capital ventures, sale or bankruptcy. There are also moved towards privatisation of land ownership through the idea of «operating agriculture by science and education": This the event's importance. Rallies with 600 and 400 participants were organised, the first drawing a large attendance from the PT left.
The emergence of what is, effectively, an annual parliament in opposition to neoliberalism and barbarism must be a great step forward. Maybe next year larger UK and Irish contingents can be organised. • See declaration (opposite) could allow limited transfer of land use rights from individual peasants to corporations.
There have obviously been differences of views concerning China's accession to the WTO, which is why the Premier Zhu Rongji, in a meeting on Dec 9, stressed that "all levels of leadership should correctly understand the significance of the accession to the WTO, and unify all opinions under the central leadership's policies."
It is also expected that the masses of workers and peasants will resist the adverse impacts on their working and living conditions with China's accession to the WTO and further concessions to the forces of global More resistance, protests and organisation will inevitably follow.