Editorial: What next after Porto Alegre?
Percy F. Makombe

“I was not elected by financial markets, and I was not elected by the powerful economic interests…I was elected through the high level of consciousness of Brazillian society,” Brazil President Lula da Silva told thousands of people who had gathered to attend the World Social Forum (WSF), in Porto Alegre, Brazil from January 23-28.

That over 100 000 participants attended the WSF events this year is testimony to the rapid growth of the Forum that began three years ago with the slogan: “Another World is Possible”. The Forum which draws its participants from non-governmental organisations and social activists runs parallel to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. While WEF promotes global capitalism, the WSF is opposed to the domination of the world by capital and to any form of imperialism.

So when Lula spoke against “powerful economic interests”, his message struck the right chord not least because the formation of WSF was a reaction to capitalism as represented by transnational corporations, the World Bank and IMF. The growing numbers in the WSF bear testimony to the fact that capitalism is in a crisis. The President of the WEF, Klaus Schwab commented that “never before in the 33 years of the World Economic Forum's history has the situation in the world been as fragile, as complex and as dangerous as this year.” Schwab has reasons to be concerned. The recent corporate scandals in the US, the battered economies of Africa and Latin America largely as a result of failed Structural Adjustment Programmes and global recession have pounded capitalism and exposed it as an unworkable ideology. This partly explains why the mood was sombre in Davos where the captains of capital were meeting. The protest movement symbolised by the WSF has been able to strike at the heart of capital. The fight for a new and just world order has also found expression in anti-globalisation protests that have take place in Seattle, Washington, Nice, Johannesburg and Porto Alegre just to mention a few. In all these protests the statement has been made that the global trading system is exploitative and unfair. As the people take their fight against exploitative globalisation to the streets, capitalism has been seeking to reinvent itself.

The reinvention of capitalism is what is leading some people to say that capitalism needs to be reformed to make it more humane. This reformist agenda is dangerous because it seeks to fool people into believing that the ideology of capitalism can be made to be more accommodating. This belief is as unsound in theory as it is unworkable in practice because it ignores the basic fact that the global trading market only benefits those who enter the arena already possessing a lot of wealth. The current international market is controlled by transnational companies who use their hegemonic economic power to control multilateral institutions that are the de facto governors of this world. Against such a background, it is impossible to reform capitalism. Capitalism just has to be discarded not reformed.

So as the WSF grows from strength to strength it must be careful not to be co-opted into the WEF agenda. The two are polar opposites. The World Social Forum should guard against being used as the launch pad for 'capitalism with a human face'. Saying the three year old WSF is giving the 33 year old WEF sleepless nights is an understatement. True the WEF continues to receive blows from the WSF but the champagne bottles should not start popping yet. History has shown that when capitalism is threatened, it is capable of re-packaging itself and posing as something helpful. There is need for an alternative development paradigm to counter the capital led globalisation. This essentially means that non-governmental organisations, civil society, individuals and governments have to evaluate their engagement with the social and economic challenges that confront the peoples of the world. Governments particularly need to link themselves more with social movements and peoples aspirations than with big businesses and profit.
The civil society need not relax and wait for the next World Social Forum in India 2004 to be heard. There are a number of issues that are already crying out for attention and need to be tackled as a matter of urgency.

1) Governments in developing countries must be pressured not to sign trade agreements before understanding their implications. They must for example not sign in on any new issues at the WTO.
2) Governments must be pressured to delay negotiations on international trade agreements, until it has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the agreements will benefit developing countries. There is no reason for instance in continuing with Cotonou negotiations since the European Commission has not made good its promise to fund studies that would analyse the Cotonou agreement.
3) African civil societies need to speak out and protest the divide and rule tactics employed by the European Union in negotiations. This means that South Africa's negotiations with the EU which seem to be carried out in secrecy must be condemned at every turn.
4) African governments must be encouraged to negotiate as a group rather than as individuals, because as a group they have clout and will not be tossed around as would happen if they negotiate as individual countries.
5) Free trade agreements with the EU or with the US cannot take place in a context that does not adequately deal with the issue of subsidies and tariffs.
What is increasingly becoming clear is that Africa is getting rid of its perceived beggar status. It would be difficult for Europe and the US to survive without African markets. So when Africa negotiates, it should do just that – NEGOTIATE, not beg. So while it is true that the WSF is gaining ground on the WEF, this is no cause for celebration. This is moreso given the belief that others are expressing that the WEF and WSF can work together. Just because WEF allows Lula to speak in their Forum does not mean that they will suddenly stop being driven by profit. One would argue that letting Lula speak at WEF strengthens rather than weakens the WEF. This way captains of capitalism will try to take the moral high ground and proclaim that they are prepared to accommodate everyone. WSF should continue campaigning for an alternative development programme that places the basic needs of the people above corporate profits. This agenda should have as its main task the creation of an environment where people can live with dignity and in peace.

*Makombe is a Programmer Officer with SEATINI and Assistant Editor for the Bulletin.

Produced by SEATINI Director and Editor: Y. Tandon; Advisor on SEATINI: B. L. Das
Editorial Assistance: Helene Bank, Rosalina Muroyi, Percy F. Makombe and Raj Patel
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