Fifth World Social Forum Held

The fifth annual World Social Forum opened in Porto Alegre, Brazil on January 26 with a march of over 200,000 workers, youth, indigenous peoples, farmers and activists from around the world. The forum, first organized to counter the annual gathering of world leaders and the world’s biggest capitalists in Davos, Switzerland, has turned into a gathering place where activists from around the world can gather to discuss the worldwide movement against capitalism, globalization and imperialist war.

Marchers walked behind a giant banner inscribed in four languages with the slogan of the World Social Forum - ‘Another world is possible’. Thousands of other banners and placards opposed everything from the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, to the neoliberal policies of privatization that have caused disaster for the peoples of the world, the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, and the U.S.-backed puppet government in Haiti. Other marchers held signs in support of struggles of the people of the world for true freedom, sovereignty, peace and social justice.

Following the march, the forum was officially opened by representatives of different struggles in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including Ivette Gonzalez, the daughter of Rene Gonzalez, one of the five Cubans imprisoned unjustly in the U.S. for his work to prevent terrorist attacks against Cuba.

Over 78,000 participants registered for the Forum, which runs for six days and includes over 2,000 separate discussions, conferences, debates or sessions on different topics of concern to the movement. Hundreds of cultural presentations are also scheduled.

Modern Communism will carry reports on some of the discussions at the Forum in our next issue.

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