WSF "Final Declaration" Offers Few Alternatives, Calls for More Protests

  
The final declaration of the World Social Forum is really not that at all. Although it appears on the organization's website (www.forumsocialmundial.org.br), the text seems to be little more than a call from "social movements from all around the world" for more protests. But final declaration or not, it is a fairly good summary of what most of the world's social organizations find wrong with capitalism. The list is concise but inclusive, with a pronounced South-South tone, and is a useful way to get a broad view of the issues on the protesters' agenda.

Unfortunately, the document is not a good blueprint for alternatives. The discussion of alternatives to corporate-driven globalization was the draw for this year's WSF. And in the end, the event itself was rich in the discussion of specifics and attempted to play down the mere verbiage of protest. I would argue that this declaration fails to capture the substance or the spirit of the forum, although I am sure that the authors and the WSF's promoters will consider it a good meeting of the minds on the different ideological currents that managed to merge in the five days of meetings in Porto Alegre.

The document demonizes the US government without making any specific mention of the European Union or any of its members. It characterizes post-9/11 policy as "the beginning of a permanent global war to cement the domination of the US government and its allies," adding that "opposition to the war is at the heart of our movement." The document states that "social movements energetically condemn violence and militarism as a means of conflict resolution; the promotion of low intensity conflicts and military operations in the Colombia Plan as part of the Andes regional initiative, the Puebla Panama plan, the arms trade and higher military budgets, economic blockades against people and nations especially against Cuba and Iraq, and the growing repression against trade unions, social movements, and activists." It also condemns the US for walking away from a series of multilateral treaties and negotiations as part of its policy to defend corporate might.

Other core issues cited for Latin America include debt forgiveness, indigenous rights and rejection of the FTAA. "By organizing protests such as the huge demonstrations and plebiscites against FTAA," the document claims, "people have rejected these agreements as representing a recolonisation and the destruction of fundamental social, economical, cultural and environmental rights and values."

The short document includes a list of "demands" for social justice, respect of rights and liberties, quality of life, equality, dignity and peace. The authors claim to be fighting for democracy ("people have the right to know about and criticize the decisions of their own governments, especially with respect to dealings with international institutions"); the abolition of external debt and reparations; a crackdown on "speculative activities," with the creation of specific taxes such as the Tobin Tax and the abolition of tax havens; the right to information; women's rights; an end to war and militarism (including "foreign military bases and interventions, and the systematic escalation of violence"); the rights of youth, including "access to free public education and social autonomy, and the abolition of compulsory military service"; and "the self determination of all peoples, especially the rights of indigenous peoples."

Finally, the authors list a calendar of "collective mobilizations," the type of protests that have become familiar since Seattle, Genoa and Quebec.

It is not surprising that this document has not been signed or given a clear indication of its official status. Final declarations of such a rich and diverse activity such as this or the People's Summits always tend toward the most vocal and not the most focused elements at the table. The challenge is not to live up to this document, but rather to play down the rhetoric and emphasize the climate of positive renewal that was the real spirit of the World Social Forum. To capture this spirit, one needn't to look far. The same website has many of the papers and some snapshots of the debates at the principal seminars and conferences of WSF 2002. They are much more rewarding than the so-called final statement.