Another World Social Forum is possible, necessary

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• March 21st, 2018
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Aram Aharonian  -  Rebellion

After 17 years it would be time to review the charter of principles, adapt to today's world, with a list of agreed issues, such as climate change, wars, weapons, Speculator Finanza ... It is time that the WSF again be a impinges actor in the world.

Another world is possible: that was the trigger that love to those who fought against injustice and destruction of the planet and the World Social Forum became since 2001 and for several years a meeting of social movements opposing globalization neoliberal and was established as an alternative to the guidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos voice. 

To influence those common values, to change the collective imagination over reality, he always needed to organize and have clear goals. 

But while horizontality and transparency is recited, there was always the temptation to become a franchise, deployed worldwide (and not just for the developing world), without clear common goals to overcome the temptation of eventismo .

Within the progressivism, there are colleagues who resist criticism of the reality of the WSF, perhaps because something that is genuinely defend their own history and criticism seems inconvenient for this time of so many frailties. There are some who say the permanent self-criticism is not always successful (which is the same as saying that sometimes it is).

Many have taken positions near the maxim that "a fortress under siege, criticism is betrayal" (all out for discussion are the principles), others are afraid of losing their sponsors. 

What should leave a debate it is the definition of what strategy to follow: continue within the WSF to introduce these debates as necessary, build another tool and in both cases, with whom. 

And besides, we live in full neocolonial offensive.

The principles

From several regions it is reported that the Brazilian committee never wanted to leave power in an abstract model anarchic perhaps based on the vision of Brazilian Catholic community base, without any relation to reality. 

And the International Committee of personalities, followed handled by small groups and figures beyond the alterglobalism, representing NGOs (some paid), each with lines and such specific purposes as their own, and often just themselves .

After 17 years it would be time to review the charter of principles, adapt to today's world, with a list of agreed issues and which surely all agree, such as climate change, wars, weapons, speculative finance, migration. And it's time that the WSF again become an actor that affects the world.

Or is there someone who is against an unequivocal statement against war, against the destruction of the planet or against the enormous inequality that eight people have the same wealth as 2.3 billion people?

It does not seem normal for this FSM Salvador does not have the issue of climate change as a major axis, deeply felt by civil society. It seems that the issues are channeled by European and US NGOs interested in issues that are not urgent for our societies, but they have funding for your organization.

Upstairs in the structure of the WSF is the figure of Brazilian architect Francisco  Chico  Whitaker, short of horizontality since receiving the alternative Nobel Prize when the Forum was a reference point for those who wanted to change the world, faced with the few intellectuals shaft that They got the debate on the need for another possible, necessary, indispensable world.

The verse of horizontality is constantly contradicted by authoritarianism and manipulation from power structures (WSF), more enthusiastic in organizing events (everything is possible, there is no continuity or follow up on issues and debates) between convinced that giving the fight for the anticapitalist critical thinking.

When political movements began to approach the Forum, did his best to keep them away, with the excuse to avoid contamination. 

And our progressive presidents were not welcome. 

Not even their experiences, their doubts, their proposals, was used to discuss them. Moreover, the Brazilian group prevented the International Committee issued a statement against the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, which led to the coup-media-police-state business court. ¿Nor it defends democracy?

In the first forums, for example, the panel was organized on Utopia, with José Saramago, Eduardo Galeano, Federico Mayor and 60,000 participants, showed the need for debate, the battle of ideas in the cultural war against capitalism and neocolonial forces. 

neither they are already Galeano or Saramago and went without them he could get juice: there was not even a summary of the debate to socialize. Was there no interest?

Understand that horizontality and organization are not two opposing values. WSF organizers issued a document advocating that has hundreds of panels, and note that seek to integrate it is against horizontality. Undoubtedly, all these panels are evidence of the richness of the debate, and fragmentation: everyone knows your panel, but not being debated in other panels on the same subject ... and even less about other topics.

Personalities who gave life and prestige to the WSF today agree that it is in a deep crisis, as indicated by the figures and the lack of impact and enthusiasm, and insist on the need to give way to an always inclusive and transparent horizontality, but accepting that a minimum of organization and structure is necessary.

L to  endog to me to

The verse of horizontality collides with the need for information and communication (and thus has also been at the International Committee believed that was the job of journalists). Since the beginning of the process was stressed (from the alternative media) on the need for tools to share with those who came were created, because sharing is a collective and individual who want and fight for a different world responsibility.

And the WSF was staying with Inbred initiatives: each Forum did not get anything from the experiences to the world. 

Simple rules would agree to respect the organizers of panels: appoint a rapporteur to deliver the end of the panel discussion and a summary of its findings so they can be shared. Today electronic media make possible what was unthinkable 17 years ago.

Would be useful for those who are not (in the panel) can reflect and share, which has nothing to do with the vaunted horizontality, but l inescapable need to coordinate struggles. The design of the WSF is facilitator of fragmentation that each panel believes that the most important thing is your fight and not giving rise to it, the need to invent a different, fair, equitable world peace, of respect nature.

The design is for each group to coordinate with itself, an attack on the same philosophy of the WSF. As Galeano said in the seventies, while some make the revolution, Brigitte Bardot struggle in defense of blue whales ...

In more than three decades, the WSF ran dangers such as routinization, the NGO-ization, cooptation, bureaucratization, lack of participation of real movement, dispersion, infiltration, copamiento. This reality is confirmed. 

Amid the systemic crisis of capitalism, with a climatic, political, social, migratory, unprecedented food crisis, it is still committed to the vaunted horizontality that only benefits the single thought and inflexibility.

We are at the door of the effect of new technologies on the (over) life of workers and the economy, as well as false news ( fake news ), the posverdad and artificial intelligence, which calls for one new agenda, but managed from the south. All this and there was talk in 2001 in Porto Alegre ... Six years after the start, in 2007, in Belem do Pará the first collective exhibition of rejection was the crisis of capitalism and the need for a break with it.

Today growing debate behind closed doors between movementist "pure" (allies today one European social democracy and the Catholic Church) and social and political activists about the future of the WSF, on the relationship between anti-capitalist political parties and movements, links with governments progressive in the region.

Obviously, the WSF has lost weight and influence, perhaps because those social movements that led to our reformist government presidents, disappeared from the streets, because they too were co-opted (and bureaucratized) for tasks of government and demobilized movements.

Today many former altermundistas seek forums on topics of interest to American and European NGOs and fleeing pressing for the future of their own people, perhaps to keep the gym forista issues. 

We saw not long ago at the WTO meeting in Buenos Aires, where invisibilized the fight against the FTA between Mercosur and the European Union, among others.

Another World Social Forum is possible and necessary: ​​it only guarantees eventismo, the imposition of organizers of a franchise that follows the agendas of European and American NGOs, fragmentation, abandoning the battle of ideas, contempt and use of social and the ability to search and discuss, together, space and ways to continue the fight in other difficult circumstances, far more difficult than 17 years ago organizations.

This is not to destroy anything, but to transform it again excites social activists, to end the stagnation. The challenge is knowing where to walk, to walk with . We can not stand the only truth: the debate is always enriching for everyone. Today there is no way but said Antonio Machado (who knew nothing but fighting forums): Hiker your footsteps are the road and nothing else / Wanderer, there is no path,  paths are made by walking.

Aram Aharonian: Uruguayan journalist and communications expert. Master of integration. Founder of Telesur. Chairs the Foundation for Latin American Integration (FILA).

Rebellion has posted this article with the author 's permission through a license Creative Commons , respecting their freedom to publish it elsewhere.

ATTAC Mallorca  not s'identifica necessàriament amb els continguts publicats, excepte quan són signats per own organització.

closing plenary meeting of the Alternative World Water Forum, which was held in the capital of Brazil, between 17 and 22 March as parallel to the World Water Forum activity, attended by 3,000 participants from 34 countries. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS