Mario Lubetkin, IPS Director General

By Mario Lubetkin (*)

Rome, Mar (IPS TerraViva) Paradoxically, just as history is proving the World Social Forum right in many of its predictions and analyses, the major media, those “shapers of public opinion”, are not increasing but in fact sharply decreasing their coverage of it. This silent treatment is a clear obstacle to the expansion of the WSF and a cause of real concern for many of its innumerable organisers and participants.

This situation was recognised in the final February 10 declaration by the Social Movements of the WSF, which concluded that the forum must undertake “a battle of ideas, in which we cannot move forward unless there is a democratisation of communication.”

It is curious that ten years ago journalists from around the world flocked to Porto Alegre to cover the WSF debates, which were given broad coverage in print and on television.

It could be argued that this was simply a result of the novelty of the forum and its flood of activists proclaiming, “another world is possible” while the rest of the world careened blindly towards disaster.

The surprise was greater still when the following year, in 2002, certain members of the WSF, where attendance rose steadily, were elected presidents of their countries -like Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva in Brazil.

But these developments, it would seem, were moving contrary to the currents of history. In the same period, with the exception of certain slips -like the popping of the so-called dot.com bubble and the subsequent collapse of 4854 Internet companies between 2000-2003- capitalism, and especially financial capitalism, was charging full steam ahead. It outstripped the real economy, swelled the Gross World Product and international trade, and generated massive earnings for its businesses -insurance companies and banks, especially investment banks- giving the impression that the good times would never end.

From its first years the WSF denounced with tenacity and rigour the elements of the reigning neoliberal ideology that would lead to global disaster: the so-called Washington Consensus that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was imposing on countries of the South, extreme liberalisation, blind faith in the market as the ideal arbiter of the economy, rejection of any regulation especially of the financial firms which were conducting massive levels of speculation. The ruin that resulted is plain to see all around us.

One might think that, since history proved the WSF right, the media might have grown curious about the prescient arguments and predictions of the Forum. But the opposite happened: in recent years, particularly since the global depression struck in 2008, the presence of media at the forum has dropped continuously.

What was more logical was the parallel decline in the media’s coverage of the World Economic Forum, which saw its fundamental postulates proved terribly wrong.

Of course, part of this contradiction has to do with the characteristics and errors of the WSF itself. The analysis of this matter is important given that the Forum constitutes the largest agglomeration of civil society in the world. Four aspects deserve close study:

-The structure of the forums consists of numerous simultaneous meetings on different themes. Thus the journalists must choose which they would like to attend and may find it difficult to make an assessment of the forum as a whole. This is accentuated by the organisational problems of the forum, which were particularly evident in the last meeting in Dakar. This dispersed nature of the event can thus distract attention from the ideas that it generates, including the best suggestions for solutions to the world’s problems.

-In general the journalists who cover the forum are inadequately prepared. Providing good coverage of specialised debates requires a high level of expertise on fields ranging from ecology, finance, minority rights, and philosophical, political, theological, sociological discussions.

-The WSF has thus far lacked a true communications strategy. Despite its extraordinary capacity to draw people from civil society, its management and organisational staff is limited and lacks resources. It could produce better results if it recognised the importance of having and implementing a communications strategy.

-The operation of the mass media has changed dramatically in this decade and requires a rethinking that factors in the new modes of exchange made possible by the Internet and electronic devices, social networks, and major alternative media like Al Jazeera and blogs like the Huffington Post, which have shown serious interest in this subject.

The coincidence of the Dakar Forum and the toppling of the regimes in North Africa has charged the debate and all groups linked to the WSF and challenged them to demonstrate the power and potential of those proposing to build “another world” using new forms of civil organisation and communication.

(*) Mario Lubetkin is Director-General of IPS news agency.

NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2011 (IPS) – More than 200 years ago, one of the United States’ founding presidents, Thomas Jefferson, famously remarked: “Every generation needs a new revolution.” Today, his words are more relevant than ever, as young people across the world mark 2011 as a year of change.

Judging by the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and the strong turnout at last week’s World Social Forum (WSF) in Dakar, Senegal, activism is alive and well.

For a wrap-up on this year’s WSF and some insight into the recent uprisings, IPS spoke with Boaventura de Sousa Santos, author and professor of sociology at the University of Coimbra in Portugal.

Q: What were the highlights of this year’s WSF?

A: In spite of organisational difficulties, this was a successful WSF for various reasons. First, Africa’s problems and Africa’s contribution to the world were at the centre of the WSF, precisely at the same time as the people in Cairo celebrated liberation and showed new ways of struggling for it. This focus on Africa became a source of inspiration for the U.N. International Year for People of African Descent, just beginning.

Second, an unprecedented amount of time was allocated to convergence meetings among social movements aiming at jointly planned collective actions.

Third, the renewal of the WSF is definitely on the agenda. The objective is to allow for political demands to be advanced globally in the name of important sectors of the WSF – without compromising the inclusive nature of the world meetings every two years – and to strengthen the self- education and training across national borders.

Q: From Marxism to La Via Campesina, social movements have changed and evolved over the years. What do you think is the most successful approach to making real change in the world?

A: Tunis’s and Cairo’s uprisings are showing that a paradigmatic change in oppositional militancy is under way. If until now the central question for progressive politics was how to articulate progressive parties with progressive social movements and NGOs, the new central question is how to articulate progressive parties and social movements, on one side, with unorganised citizens, on the other.

The latter, mostly young people, whom the organised civil society viewed as apolitical, brainwashed by mass consumption and mass media – in sum, lost for social causes – are showing that real change in the world occurs when a threshold is reached beyond which politics becomes equated with human life and human dignity.

Social movements have not reflected on the conditions, times and spaces of such threshold for the simple reason that they didn’t believe that such a threshold existed. For them, being organised meant – and still means – to be on the right side, and being unorganised, on the wrong side.

The real change in the world will occur when multiple Cairos will occur synchronically around the world, all different and all similar. The newest social movements will focus on their relations with the unorganised society and on the intercultural translation that will make possible insurgent transnational aggregation without global homogeneity.

Q: What can we learn from the recent global financial crisis?

A: That capitalism is becoming more destructive than ever by squeezing more labour from workers that have a job and more subservience from those that don’t, by resorting to wage theft, by destroying all remnants of the social contract, by silencing, through the financial crisis, all the other crises – energetic, environmental, intergenerational, civilisational crises facing humankind.

We also learn that as long as the crisis is being “resolved” by those that caused it, the destruction will continue. At least, until when many Cairos emerge around the world, based on different grievances but united in the same struggle for social justice and democratic accountability.

Q: Do you think there is the possibility that the U.N. could be strengthened as a world parliament?

A: We should struggle, not for spatially inflated forms of representative democracy, but rather for sub-national, national and regional articulations between representative and participatory democracy. In some cases, these two forms of democracy should be joined by communitarian democracy, as stated in the Constitution of Bolivia of 2009. In other words, we need demo-diversity as much as we need biodiversity.

Q: Neoliberal policies prioritise money, profit and the free market as drivers of development. What does “development” mean to you? And what, as a worldwide community, do you think we should prioritise?

A: The concept of development emerged to legitimate its opposite: underdevelopment. All of a sudden the vast majority of countries of the world were labelled underdeveloped and the label reached much beyond their economies. Underdeveloped were also their institutions, their laws, their cultures.

The way out for all of them was to follow the path of the very few developed countries, that is, to obey the rules set by the latter for international relations at all levels. Concomitantly, the possibility of multiple modernities was precluded and modernity became, by definition, Western modernity. Indeed, the other “other” of development was not underdevelopment but rather socialist revolution.

Development is at heart a Cold War concept. Having this in mind, it is almost impossible if not self-defeating, to try to conceive of alternative conceptions of development. We need rather alternatives to development.

One of them could be the quechua concept of Sumak kawsay which, according to the Constitution of Ecuador of 2008, should preside over the socio-economic regulation of society. It means roughly buen vivir in Spanish or living well, in English. Living well means an aspiration of individual and collective flourishing that rather than setting us apart from nature – as inherent to the concept of development- conceives of nature as part of human society in such a way that human rights and the rights of nature are the two sides of the same struggle for social emancipation.

As the year of the Rio plus 20 (The UN Conference on Sustainable Development of 2012) approaches, giving credibility to the concept of Sumak kawsay may be a good way of indicating our priorities.

Q: The world is growing at an unprecedented rate. How can we handle this growth while being responsible to both people and the environment?

A: Food sovereignty and what it entails is the solution.

(END)

DAKAR, Feb 11 (TerraViva) – It started with a march through the streets of Dakar, grew with calls for a new global era and is ending with a challenge to activists to take the call for global change beyond the World Social Forum into the world.

Marching in the streets of Dakar. Credit: Abdullah Vawda/IPS

Addressing tens of thousands who marched through the Senegalese capital to mark the start of the Forum, Bolivian president Evo Morales called for a programme of social struggle to build a new world.

“There must be awareness and a mobilisation to put an end to capitalism and clear away invaders, neocolonialists and imperialists [...] I support the popular uprisings in Tunisia and in Egypt. These are signs of change,” said Morales.

It was a fitting coincidence that after thirty years in power in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak finally bowed to more than two weeks of mass protest and stepped down on the same day as the Forum drew to a conclusion.

The struggle in Egypt encapsulates many of the issues that were prominent in Dakar: deepening poverty made worse by the global financial crisis; religious conflict threatening a minority; issues of gender inequality bolstered by both culture and the law; and a people alienated from their democratic curtailment of individual rights and freedoms. All this in large measure thanks to billions of dollars of United States support for an oppressive security apparatus.

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told delegates liberal doctrines imposed on the world’s poorest countries no longer have a place in modern societies.

“In South America, but above all in the streets of Tunis and Cairo and many other African cities, a new hope is being born. Millions of people are rising up against the poverty to which they are subjected, against the domination of tyrants, against the submission of their countries to the policies of the big powers,” said Lula.

In its eleventh year, the Forum remains a space for open and honest debate. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade did not hesitate to declare himself a supporter of the market economy which most here reject, and threw down a challenge to participants regarding their engagement with established global institutions such as the United Nations.

“If you who are here, if you had supported the idea, then Africa would already be on the Security Council. Since 2000, I have followed your movement and I still – excuse my frankness – ask myself this question: have you succeeded in changing the world at the global level?”

It’s a challenge that participants in the WSF take very seriously. Kenyan social justice activist Onyango Oloo was a key organiser of the 2007 edition of the Forum in Nairobi; he was unable to attend this year, but he suggested that the building of another world is already begun, away from the fleeting attention of the media.

The WSF is a place where those builders can meet each other directly. Organisers said 75,000 people from 132 countries attended, to share their experiences of injustice and resistance, to test each others’ analyses and return home newly-inspired.

For activist Beverley Keene, from Buenos Aires, holding the forum in Africa was important. “It’s our time to learn from each other and assess the impact that the financial crisis and the looting of the people’s minerals have on livelihoods.”

Lebanese participant Ounsi Daif said he had inspiring exchanges with people from Tunisia and Palestine as well as with students at the university that hosted the WSF. “I discovered the realities of West Africa, which I did not know. I discovered the inequalities, I discovered also the neo-liberal policies, I discovered a lot of things.”

Anietie Ewang, from the Niger Delta, said it had been an eye-opening experience for her. “An opportunity to re-strategise, to take the strategies of all the other participants that you’ve come to know about from their testimonies and go in and continue the fight with all the enthusiasm in the world.”

“The first and most important thing that one can learn from Tunisia is that when the people say no to oppression, then everything is possible,” said Tunisian Azza Chamkhi.

The wide-open optimism of Chamkhi’s statement captures both the broad appeal of the World Social Forum and what is frustrating about it.

“The WSF has a tendency to spin its own wheels, so to speak, because of the inherent limits of its slogan and motto,” says U.S. scholar Joel Kovel, a co-author of the Eco-socialist Manifesto. “’Another World is Possible’, repeated over and over, becomes discouraging because the shape of that other world is never really spelled out.”

Yet the people of Tunisia and Egypt – perhaps like South Africans, Iranians, Chileans, or African-Americans before them – find themselves on the threshold of a new world.

“The dictator is gone, but the dictatorship is still there,” said Chamkhi.

Thousands of activists are departing Dakar to pull it up, root and branch.

(END/2011)

DAKAR, Feb 11 (TerraViva) – Delegates attending the WSF in Dakar have affirmed their support and active solidarity with the people of Tunisia, Egypt and the Arab world.

Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Credit: Mohamed Omer/IPS

The social movement assembly of the World Social Forum adopted a declaration that said “the Arab world has risen up to the demand a true democracy and build the people’s power.

“Their struggles are lighting the path to another world, free from oppression and exploitation,” the statement reads.

“Inspired by the struggles of the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt, we call for March 20th to be made a day of international solidarity with the uprisings of the Arab and African people, whose advance supports the struggles of all peoples.”

Thousands of delegates attended the assembly at the main venue at Cheikh Anta Diop University. Loud applause broke out as the statement was read out.

Some delegates had expressed concerned that the events in North Africa were not granted enough time for discussion time at the Forum. Others said the assembly’s statement goes a long way in showing solidarity to the people of Tunisia and Egypt.

Following the reading out of the statement, Mamdouh Habashi, an Egyptian activist who had spent several days at the focal point of the Egyptian protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square just before coming to Dakar, addressed the assembly.

“The revolution is not yet over. Mubarak is still in power,” he said.

Habashi said the “people of Egypt are at war with the imperialists and need the support of the African people and the world”. Change in Egypt, he said, is an earthquake taking place that will change the world. He underlined that pressure must be put on countries that still supported Mubarak.

Picking up the theme, Habashi’s fellow Egyptian and activist, the public intellectual Samir Amin, echoed these sentiments but urged activists to find ways to offer effective solidarity.

“It is not enough to show solidarity with the people of Egypt, we have to also change the U.S. and other powers. It is only through doing this that we can truly help the people of Egypt.”

When she took the floor, feminist and activist Pumi Mtetwa said the social movements of South Africa and Southern Africa also support the people of Egypt and Tunisia.

“Unity in struggle and struggle in unity,” she declared. “We pledge our solidarity to the people and support the assembly’s declaration”.

Habiya Sheg from Algeria said, “The people of Egypt have taken the decision [to resist] and will not go back and this is about political sovereignty.”

Thousands of delegates have been urged to support a march on the Egyptian embassy in Dakar at the end of the WSF’s final proceedings.

(END/2011)

NORAH MATOVU-WINYI. Credit:Courtesy of FEMNET

Rousbeh Legatis interviews NORAH MATOVU-WINYI, Executive Director, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11, 2011 (IPS/TerraViva) – “The agenda for women’s rights and empowerment in each country must be supported by the political leadership,” says Norah Matovu-Winyi, Executive Director, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET).

FEMNET is a membership based Network, mandated to facilitate the sharing of information, experiences, ideas and strategies among African women’s NGOs in order to strengthen women’s capacity to participate effectively in the development process.

In future World Social Forums “there is need to support more women to participate in the dialogues,” Matovu-Winyi said. Women learn a lot from each other and in many instances discover that their struggles are the same despite coming from different continents.

Bringing women from different countries together to share ideas, experience and challenges “is the greatest solidarity mechanism for women,” Norah Matovu-Winyi told IPS.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Q: What are the most pressing issues for women in Africa?

A: Increasing poverty and its feminised characteristics continue to be a major challenge in Africa. Women and girls, especially in poor urban and rural communities, continue to live on less than one dollar and a half per day, with household capacity for income generation decreasing. This has worsened with the multiple crises including the global financial and economic meltdown, food insecurity and climate change and the fuel crisis which have all combined to impact the households in developing countries in ways that have left many women more vulnerable to poverty. The majority of African women have limited opportunities for realising their full potential in their lifetime.

Insecurity resulting from the wars and conflicts (intra-state, inter-state and within communities) in which women’s bodies have increasing become battlegrounds are causing havoc in the region.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the biggest threats to human security and a daily nightmare for many women, girls, boys and men on the African continent.

Patriarchy is Africa’s dominant, organizing social system, in which women’s rights as citizens remain subordinated to the inferior social prescriptions for the female gender, which does not accord the same recognition to women and girls as to men and boys; and which does not equally tap into this resource for Africa’s development.

Q: Does the Social World Forum respond to the need of African women?

A: The World Social Forum (WSF) is an open and significant space for African women activists and feminists to meet and link with other social movements and civil society organisations that propagate another alternative world that is free of neo-liberalism and any form of imperialism. The thousands of people from all corners of the world brainstorm, share experiences and ideas; and identify key agenda items that they agree on how to harmonise for a better world.

During the 2011 WSF, FEMNET partnered with PANOS to organise the Gender and Media workshop, and attached two female journalists to the Flame of Africa Newspaper which was produced throughout the WSF. This was part of capacity building for the young journalists because they had the opportunity to challenge each other to demand for gender responsive media reporting, support each other to take up decision-making positions in the media and to utilise new information technologies in order to put the women’s agenda at the forefront in the global development processes. The main role of FEMNET in this partnership was to provide a gender perspective to coverage of issues during the WSF and also mobilise African women journalists to cover the WSF with a gender lens.

The WSF provided space for FEMNET as a regional organisation to work with other regional women’s organisations like WIDE (a Network of European women’s rights NGOs) and also AWID (a women’s rights NGO which covers Europe, Latin America and Africa).

As women’s NGOs from Africa, Latin America and Europe we used the WSF to engage with women from different parts of the world. We used the WSF to hold a consultation with women on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, as part of preparing African women to engage in debate and discussions around aid and development effectiveness before the Fourth High Level Forum (HLF4) which will be held in Busan, Korea in Nov. 2011.

The WSF does in a way respond to the needs of African women because it provides space for women to articulate their issues and also find common ground on some issues. It also provides space for women to share experiences, challenges and best practices.

Q: Do you see enough political will bring change for African women?

A: Political will and/or political commitment is essential because leadership at the top enables things to move at all levels. For example in Rwanda, it is the political will that started moving the agenda for improved maternal health and care and this trickled down to the community level, where women were sensitised on the need to work together with government to change their health care seeking behaviours including addressing basic things like hygiene, sanitation and clean environment.

In Uganda, the President led the country in moving the agenda for HIV/AIDS from a personal/individual affair to a community/country business, that required each and everyone to play her/his role in its prevention, treatment and care. This resulted in increased awareness creating a culture of public acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS and reducing stigma and improving access to medications.

To some extent we felt not enough political will among the leadership of Senegal to host the WSF.

For example most of the meetings were cancelled because there was no venue, despite an organisation paying for the venue prior to coming to the WSF. For example all women’s meetings were held in tents because authorities were not willing to give rooms within the University of Cheikh Anta Diop University, the venue of the WSF. The alternative venue (tents) also proved expensive for some women’s organisations who could not afford to pay for on-the-spot interpretation and interpretation equipment.

Political commitment/will must go along with the allocation of the required financial resources.

The agenda for women’s rights and empowerment in each country must be supported by the political leadership, but also the financial resources must be available to facilitate the much-needed change.

FEMNET believes that the African Women’s Decade (2010 – 2020) is a great opportunity for all African women to mobilise and organise themselves to create a critical mass at national, regional and sub-regional levels that will push for a common agenda – that of transformative change for women and girls of Africa.

(END)

Cortesía del entrevistado. Crédito: Joel Kovel

Kanya D’Almeida entrevista al académico estadounidense JOEL KOVEL

NUEVA YORK, 10 feb (IPS) – Joel Kovel, quien desempeñó un papel destacado en varias ediciones del Foro Social Mundial, realizado esta semana en Dakar, sostiene que el movimiento debe cimentarse en una práctica y lógica anticapitalista.

Considerado el padre del movimiento Ecosocialista, Kovel analiza la historia, la trayectoria y el futuro del movimiento.

También es uno de los autores del manifiesto Ecosocialista, que detalla una ruta alternativa al actual camino de destrucción ambiental.

Kovel dijo a IPS que hay que nombrar a ese “otro mundo” y posicionarlo firmemente contra la amenaza del capital global.

IPS: ¿Cuál fue su papel en los anteriores FSM?

JOEL KOVEL: Ecosocialismo es un concepto inherentemente global, no internacional, por lo que el FSM es un lugar ideal para discutir sus principales ideas. Presentamos el manifiesto en Nairobi en 2007 y lo revisamos con un grupo de varios cientos de personas.

El Ecosocialismo crece magníficamente en el tercer mundo, pero es el cuarto mundo, el de los indígenas y los pueblos sin Estado, el que está realmente al frente de este asunto.

La gente del cuarto mundo vive en relaciones comunitarias y es víctima directa de las corporaciones mineras y petroleras depredadoras que se meten en el corazón de la tierra y destruye las comunidades que son parte del suelo. Por eso hemos dependido del espacio único del FSM para difundir las ideas del Ecosocialismo.

IPS: ¿Es suficiente lo que se discute en el FSM sobre la crisis ecológica?

JK: El FSM tiende a concentrarse en áreas específicas dentro del asunto más amplio del ecocidio o ecodestrucción, como las semillas genéticamente modificadas o la acidificación de los océanos y la deforestación. Es necesario atender esos asuntos, pero no es suficiente para lidiar con la magnitud de la crisis, que requiere de un diagnóstico mucho más amplio que sólo las causas subyacentes del problema.

Hay muy poco rigor teórico o agudo sobre la crisis ecológica en general en el FSM por muchas razones, la gente está tan aterrada, hay tantas causas válidas para luchar, los problemas son difusos, con diferentes asuntos arraigados en localidades dispersas y nadie puede decidir cuáles son los límites entre una crisis y otra.

Son tantas interrogantes, como cuándo la crisis de los océanos pasó a la atmósfera. Es comprensible que la gente se repliegue a cuestiones simples como la proliferación de las botellas de plástico.

IPS: ¿Qué puede aportar de nuevo el FSM para avanzar hacia una solución?

JK: Actualmente existe un problema de definición en el FSM. Surgen distintas cuestiones que son trastornos ecosistémicos como la interrogante de cuándo se destruye el bosque por el monocultivo, por ejemplo.

Cada crisis ecosistémica tiene su propia realidad concreta y ubicación específica, como el desastre de Bhopal en India. La verdadera crisis ecológica es el conjunto de todas ellas, que se agravan con rapidez, se propagan por el mundo y aumentan de forma exponencial.

Si queremos encontrar la causa de las diferentes crisis sistémicas, tenemos que mirarlas a todas en conjunto y encontrar lo que tienen en común. Cada problema tiene su propia causa, pero virtualmente cada una de ellas está vinculada a la expansión capitalista y se le puede seguir el rastro hasta la puerta de un banco o una potencia imperial.

Si el FSM pretende atender el problema, debe identificar y articular la cuestión del capital global, que puede pensarse de forma metafórica como un cáncer que hace metástasis. Sin importar la forma que se elija para tratar la enfermedad, debe reconocerse que es una realidad.

IPS: ¿En qué ha cambiado el FSM desde su primera participación en 2003?

JK: Por desgracia, el FSM tiene tendencia a girar en falso debido a los límites inherentes a su eslogan y lema de “otro mundo es posible”, que es repetido hasta el cansancio y termina siendo desalentador porque nunca se llega a diseñar realmente.

Pero el hecho es que FSM es el único lugar en el que se puede articular una nueva realidad, no sólo pensar en la posibilidad de uno.

Lógicamente, deberíamos poder decir que ese “otro mundo” es el del Ecosocioalismo. Pero dada la naturaleza de las organizaciones no gubernamentales y su especialización en ciertas crisis, el FSM no se ha referido lo suficiente a la causa de la crisis del capitalismo. El foro debe identificar al enemigo y darle respuesta.

IPS: ¿Le parece que Dakar ofrece una oportunidad para lograrlo?

JK: Totalmente. África es uno de los lugares más vulnerables de la Tierra, lo que es tremendamente irónico pues es el menos industrializado del planeta.

El continente es saqueado por la despiadada extracción de recursos como ningún otro lugar del mundo, en primer lugar porque es rico. Y en segundo lugar, por la falta de protección para detener la llegada de las corporaciones. Hay más incentivo en África para comenzar a pensar de forma sistémica.

Dakar también es un centro mundial de investigación en ecología, mucho más que Nairobi, e incluso que Mumbai.

El calibre general de los intelectuales de izquierda presentes es extremadamente alto en Senegal.

IPS: ¿Qué puede hacer el FSM para lidiar con los desafíos que presenta el Foro Económico Mundial que se desarrolla casi simultáneamente?

JK: Tiene que cimentarse firmemente en una práctica y lógica anticapitalista. Es difícil, pero ciertamente posible. Creo que por encima de todo el FSM es un lugar donde una gran variedad de tendencias se encuentran, conscientes de que sus distintos problemas no son porque sí, sino que son sistemáticos y tienen que ver con la penetración del imperio y del capital global en cada rincón de la Tierra.

Para seguir con la analogía médica, si usted tiene un paciente con un tumor en el páncreas, sólo puede tratarlo una vez que los médicos concuerden en que se trata de cáncer. Recién en ese momento pueden reunirse a pensar en el remedio, y hay muchísimas formas de curar esto.

(FIN/2011)

La marcha inaugural en las calles de Dakar. Crédito: Isolda Agazzi/IPS

Por Isolda Agazzi

DAKAR, 10 feb (IPS) – Aunque con menos participación que en años anteriores, el Foro Social Mundial (FSM) que se lleva a cabo en Dakar sirve a activistas de toda África para conocer de cerca la situación que viven sus pares en diversas partes de este amplio y diverso continente.

Es la segunda vez que el FSM se realiza en África. La primera fue en Nairobi, Kenia, en 2007. Desde que nació este movimiento de la sociedad civil hace 10 años en la sureña ciudad brasileña de Porto Alegre, los organizadores han promovido intensamente la participación africana.

El número de personas que asisten al FSM creció en estos años de 20.000 a 150.000. En Nairobi la cifra cayó a 70.000, lo que llevó a algunos observadores anunciar “el fin del movimiento antiglobalización”.

“Pero uno tiene que comparar manzanas con manzanas”, dijo Chico Whitaker, uno de los fundadores del Foro. “La mayoría de los participantes vienen del país o de la región en donde se lleva a cabo. Senegal tiene sólo 12 millones de habitantes, comparado con los 190 millones de Brasil. Por tanto, este año no habrá una gran concurrencia”.

“Nuestra intención original no era crear un nuevo movimiento que cambiara todo, sino incrementar la posibilidad de que las personas se conozcan entre sí y se reúnan. A nivel político, necesitábamos cambiar nuestros métodos. En vez de crear una pirámide basada en el poder, decidimos lanzar redes”, añadió.

Los organizadores del FSM todavía están preocupados por las dominantes premisas neoliberales. “Nos dicen que el mercado es la solución y que necesita estar libre. Pero el mercado no resuelve el problema de las desigualdades”, señaló Whitaker.

El FSM dio inicio formalmente el domingo con su tradicional marcha. Miles de personas caminaron por el centro de Dakar, la capital senegalesa, en reclamo de soberanía alimentaria, alivio de la deuda, igualdad comercial, derechos para las mujeres, acceso a la salud, liberalización de las migraciones y muchas otras causas por una globalización más inclusiva.

“El número total de participantes todavía no lo sabemos”, dijo a IPS Taoufik Ben Abdallah, coordinador del FSM y uno de los principales organizadores del encuentro de este año. Ben Abdallah pertenece al grupo Enda Tiers Monde, con sede en Dakar y dedicada a promover el desarrollo.

“Ha venido gente de 130 países. Muchos grupos llegaron de toda África, por lo general en autobús. La participación de Asia es menor, pero eso se debe principalmente al costo del viaje”, indicó.

Ben Abdallah recibió a los participantes en la Universidad Cheikh Anta Diop señalando: “África sería una región rica si se dejara a los países determinar sus propias políticas”.

Consultado por IPS si la “Revolución del Jazmín” en Túnez podría propagarse al resto del continente, Ben Abdallah señaló: “La forma en que la delegación tunecina fue recibida muestra que lo que ocurrió allí fue muy significativo”.

Los debates en el FSM comenzaron el lunes con alguna confusión. La mayoría de los talleres agendados en el edifico de la universidad fueron cancelados porque estudiantes asistían normalmente a sus clases como si el Foro no existiera.

El ex rector de la casa de estudios había prometido que el edificio estaría libre toda la semana, pero el actual rector decidió no suspender las clases.

Los organizadores del FSM negociaron con las autoridades universitarias mientras afuera se instalaban tiendas rápidamente. Varios talleres fueron reubicados allí. Muchos participantes opinaron que el gobierno senegalés no hacía ningún esfuerzo para apoyar el Foro, pero Ben Abdallah aseguró a periodistas que se trataba sólo de un problema organizativo.

Los debates del lunes fueron dedicados a África, y se realizaron cientos de talleres espontáneos sobre diversos temas hasta el miércoles.

Para Anna Dramé, del Consejo Nacional de Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil de Guinea, “celebrar el FSM es algo bueno porque da la posibilidad de intercambiar ideas y encontrar soluciones a problemas en común”.

“Me he inspirado gracias a los talleres sobre violencia contra las mujeres y sobre apropiación de tierras”, dijo a IPS. “No conocía la situación en Mauritania y en Malí. Una vez que volví a mi país, compartí la información”, señaló.

Para Sidibe Abou, de la organización Covire, dedicada a atender a las víctimas de la represión en Mauritania, “la unidad es fortaleza, y realizar el FSM en África le dará visibilidad a los problemas de los desempleados, de las viudas, de los huérfanos y otros excluidos”.

“Discutir problemas comunes nos puede ayudar a encontrar soluciones”, añadió.

En tanto, Nama Sidiki, de Diobass, organización de pequeños granjeros en Burkina Faso, dijo estar preocupado por la expropiación de tierras.

“Crea conflictos. En Burkina Faso, muchos ricos y algunos miembros del gobierno, en vez de extranjeros, se han apropiado tierras. El FSM ayuda a crear la conciencia del pueblo”, indicó.

En estos últimos días del Foro, que terminará este viernes, los delegados intentarán alcanzar posturas en común, aunque, como es habitual, no presentarán ningún documento final.

“El FSM tiene un enfoque a nivel de las bases. No queremos hacer que todas las personas piensen igual”, explicó Whitaker.

(FIN/2011)

Onyango Oloo. Crédito: Cortesía del entrevistado.

Andrea Lunt entrevista al activista keniata ONYANGO OLOO

NUEVA YORK, feb (IPS) – En el marco de las rebeliones populares que ocurren en varios países del norte de África, el activista keniata Onyango Oloo considera que para luchar contra la opresión y cambiar el mundo se necesitan acciones de base sostenidas.

El escritor y ex preso político también habló con IPS sobre cambio climático y los movimientos sociales en su país. Oloo fue coordinador nacional del Foro Social Mundial (FSM) 2007.

IPS: ¿Cuáles son los grandes temas de discusión en el FSM de este año?

ONYANGO OLOO: El encuentro de Dakar está organizado en función de “ejes”, como dignidad, diversidad, justicia, discriminación de género, reconocimiento de los derechos de las minorías sexuales, protección del ambiente, justicia climática y luchas contra las multinacionales y el capitalismo global, paz y transformación de conflictos. IPS: ¿Qué opina sobre las protestas que hay en el norte de África? ¿Por qué ocurren ahora? ¿Le parece que pueden propagarse a otro continente?

OO: Me entusiasma e inspira lo que ocurre en Egipto y Túnez. Los levantamientos revolucionarios, contrarios al despliegue de los principales medios de comunicación, son muy diferentes a un estallido repentino.

Lo que ocurre en el norte de África es la culminación de luchas, triunfos y reveses que ocurrieron a lo largo de varias décadas y un producto de muchas contradicciones sociales, como la desconexión entre las maquinaciones del imperialismo neoliberal y las aspiraciones populares de democracia, justicia social, paz y una sociedad mejor.

Las revoluciones no son bienes producidos en una fábrica que se puedan exportar de cualquier manera. Pero el poder del ejemplo puede actuar como catalizador de otras luchas de liberación nacional en otras partes de África y Medio Oriente.

IPS: ¿Cómo afecta el cambio climático a los keniatas? ¿Qué puede hacer el activismo social contra el fenómeno?

OO: La vida de la gente está profundamente afectada. El hecho de que los especuladores ávidos de Kenia que se apropiaron de tierras selváticas y de otras reservas naturales también sean políticos influyentes significa que los efectos del cambio climático afectarán, más temprano que tarde, el clima social y los conflictos de clase.

La justicia climática forma parte de la transformación de la agenda política y social. Los seres humanos forman parte del ambiente y todo lo que hagan, o se les haga a ellos, incide de alguna forma en las posibilidades de la gente de encontrar soluciones duraderas y sostenibles a los retos que el cambio climático somete a la madre tierra.

IPS: ¿Cuáles son los movimientos sociales más importantes en Kenia?

OO: Es una pregunta difícil, sino imposible de responder. Antes que nada, no se puede poner a los movimientos sociales en ningún tipo de jerarquía según su importancia en Kenia. Luego, y para serle franco, en Kenia todavía son muy débiles, muchos de ellos en etapas nacientes.

Algunos de ellos fueron captados por organizaciones no gubernamentales con fondos de Occidente y sus objetivos son apéndices de las prioridades fijadas por las agencias donadoras de América del Norte y Europa.

Sin embargo, voy a mencionar a Bunge la Mwananchi, que ha hecho aportes significativos sacudiendo la complacencia del estatus quo neocolonial.

IPS: ¿Qué modelos exitosos o alternativos de desarrollo hay en su país, o África, que puedan trasladarse a otras partes del planeta?

OO: Hay mucho conocimiento indígena que suele ser desdeñado por los grandes medios occidentales, por ejemplo, en materia de medicina tradicional y herbal.

Desde hace unos años, hasta la medicina reconoce que las prácticas tradicionales o alternativas han ofrecido enfoques saludables y paliativos contra enfermedades como diabetes, cáncer de próstata, tuberculosis y VIH/sida.

Ruanda marcó un camino en la resolución de conflictos con los tribunales gacaca, creados tras el terrible genocidio de mediados de los años 90.

Los agricultores africanos, al igual que sus pares asiáticos, tienen mejores métodos para preservar el ecosistema y conocimientos para conservar las semillas.

Mis compatriotas keniatas del pueblo de habla maa demostraron su resiliencia al mantener su cultura sin convertirse en una reliquia histórica confinada a los museos.

Las mujeres africanas, como las de la aldea Umoja Peace, cerca de Nanyuki en el centro de Kenia, crearon modelos de empoderamiento muy arraigados en su realidad en tanto que comunidad rural pastoril minoritaria, una sorpresa para quienes creen que el feminismo en África se expresa en la clase media universitaria y citadina.

IPS: ¿Cuál es la mejor forma para que se hagan escuchar los activistas y se aseguren que sus ideas discutidas en foros como el FSM se traduzcan en cambios políticos reales en el ámbito nacional e internacional?

La mejor forma es que no esperen a los encuentros periódicos del tipo del FSM. Se habla mejor en reuniones políticas sostenidas, concertadas, unidas y conscientes en el ámbito local, nacional y continental.

Lo que quiero decir es que no esperen los breves sonidos de CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera o, incluso, IPS, sino que escuchen a sus propios hermanos y hermanas, a las comunidades de su propio país y analicen y se organizan en torno de las dificultades específicas.

No viajé a Dakar porque no tengo dinero para tomarme un avión a Senegal. Muchos activistas africanos tienen el mismo problema. Es un triste recordatorio de las limitaciones para participar en acontecimientos como el FSM, aun cuando ocurren en tu continente.(FIN/2011)

DAKAR, Feb 11 (TerraViva) – Mmoja wa mabinti wanaoongoza Afrika na mwanaharakati wa haki za wanawake, mwanazuoni wa Nigeria Amina Mama anasema wanamgambo wanaopigana wanaenea hasa katika nchi za Sierra Leone na Liberia. Anasema vita na migogoro inaathiri wanawake ambao ni rahisi kuathirika pamoja na watoto wao.

Rape survivor in Malawi's Dzaleka camp for Congolese refugees: every month, seven to ten cases of gender-based violence are reported; few perpetrators are brought to justice. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Mama alikuwa akiongea na IPS pembezoni mwa Kongamano la Kijamii la Dunia kuhusu kuenea kwa wanamgambo wanaopigana katika bara na mjadala wa wanaharakati wa masuala ya wanawake katika kongamano la mwaka huu.

“Wanawake na watoto wamekuwa waathirika wakuu wa migogoro, iwe ile ya baada ya ukoloni au isiwe hiyo, nina imani maslahi ya makampuni yamechochea migogoro,” alisema.

Ukiukwaji wa haki za binadamu unaofanywa dhidi ya wanawake wakati wa migogoro umekuwa mkubwa mno. Utafiti wa mwaka 1999 nchini Rwanda kama sehemu ya Mfuko wa Kimataifa wa Wanawake  (GFW) katika mpango wa Kuenea kwa Mapigano ya Wanamgambo, unasema asilimia 39 waliripoti kubakwa wakati wa mauaji ya kimbari mwaka 1994. Asilimia sabini na mbili walisema walijua mtu ambaye alibakwa.

Katika sampuli iliyochukuliwa bila mpangilio maalum ya wakimbizi wanawake 388 wa Liberia wanaoishi katika makambi nchini Sierra Leone, robo tatu waliripoti kudhalilishwa kingono kabla ya kukimbia makazi yao nchini Liberia. GFW ilikuta kuwa zaidi ya nusu walifanyiwa vitendo vya udhalilishaji wa kingono tangu walipokimbia.

Wastani wa wanawake 50,000 hadi 64,000 walioyakimbia makazi yao walilengwa kudhalilishwa kingono wakati wa vita nchini Sierra Leone.

Mama, ambaye ni mhariri mwanzilishi wa jarida la wanazuoni la harakati za kijinsia la kwanza barani Afrika, ‘Feminist Africa’, kwa sasa ni wenyekiti wa Mfuko wa Kimataifa wa Wanawake, ambao unatoa ruzuku kwa mashirika yanayopigania haki za wanawake duniani kote.

“Kumekuwepo na mabadiliko juu ya kudumu kwa migogoro na vita katika baadhi ya maeneo ya Afrika,” anasema, “Mabadiliko haya yanasababisha aina maalum ya sera na ufuatiliaji na unyanyasaji dhidi ya wanawake. Yanajikusanya jinsi muda unavyosogea.

“Kongo ni mfano mmojawapo, kama ukiangalia unyanyasaji na ubakaji, ulianza wakati wa ukoloni wa Ubelgiji. Hivi ndivyo wanavyofanya kazi.

“Na leo hii wanaume wameiga utamaduni huo wa kutumia vita waliojifunza kutoka kwa wakoloni wa Magharibi.”

Mama kwa sasa anafanya kazi na wanaharakati wa wanawake wa Nigeria, Sierra Leone na Liberia ili kujenga ufahamu wa madhara ya vita kwa wanawake na watoto.

(END/2011)