Opening protest at the Argentina Social Forum

After four days of discussion, activities, and marches, the first (es) international Social Forum in Argentina was concluded on August 25 [ 1 ]. An estimated 5,000 people convened in the Plaza Houssey to listen to the forum’s opening remarks. The forum attracted numerous participants (es), including members of the CTA (Argentina's central labor union), various NGOs, intellectuals and activists, and community members, setting the theme of "the crises of the neoliberal model and the challenges of the global social justice movement." There were also many forum speakers and attendees from across South America, including Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador. Two of the major topics dicussed and organized against in the forum included the FTAA/ALCA and Plan Colombia.

Criticisms of the meetings largely centered around concerns (es) that radical perspectives were not included within the forum's debate. "Those who are organizing the forum are from intellectual sectors connected to the democratic institutional establishment who are defending the system, and want to change things a little bit but not a lot; reform is the objective," critiqued Marcel, a journalist with a counter-information collective, Argentina Arde.

For more information, read an English language summary about the Forum, listen to audio reports en espanol from the meetings [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ], and past coverage, including August 12 and August 6 features about anti-FTAA protests in Brasil, and an August 3 feature about the IMF contagion across Latin America.

Argentina IMC

Foro Social Mundial en Argentina

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