World Social Forum 2006

Yankees Get Out of Iraq and Latin America !!!
Let us fight for the Socialism of the XXI Century !!!

World Social Forum 2006

Yankees Get Out of Iraq and Latin America !!!
Let us fight for the Socialism of the XXI Century !!!

The World Social Forum (WSF) is a new opportunity so that thousands of anti-imperialist fighters worldwide, who are facing in each one of our own countries the capitalist globalization, let’s debate how we can be unified to mobilize to defeat Bush, imperialism, the IMF, the multinationals corporations and their crony governments.

This Social Forum is very important because it takes place within the framework that Bush and the Yankee imperialism have been struck and are in the defensive mode. Because obviously the invasion to Iraq with the heroic resistance of its people and because of the mobilization of millions in the world against that aggression, while the rejection to the war from the North American people grows, becoming a large rejection to the presence of troops in that country. On the other hand, the tragedy of Katrina and the strike of the transportation workers in New York showed that also in the United States there is poverty, social problems and that North American labor movement begins to fight. The Palestinian people continues its heroic resistance and the incapacity or political death of the assassin Sharon does not do more than to deepen the crisis of the Zionism. Workers’s strikes grow in Europe on the attacks against the old social victories. In France, the young Muslin people carried out a “Parisian Intifada” to protest against the marginalization of the immigrants. In Latin America, the political and social radicalization against the IMF grows, the FTAA, the privatizations and the social misery. We have just inflicted a hard blow to the FTAA and to Bush in Mar de Plata (Argentina). All this has also occurred in Bolivia with the resonant electoral triumph of Evo Morales and the Socialist party MAS, with which Bush and imperialism suffered another political defeat.

The Social Forum and the Venezuelan revolution

All the above issues join the importance that the Forum takes place this time in Venezuela; where there is an ongoing revolutionary process that it is also defeating and striking blows on Bush and imperialism. We can say, without exaggerating, that the Venezuelan people along with that of Iraq, have been the people that have scored more blows against the Yankee imperialism. With the difference, with regard to Iraq, that in Venezuela the imperialism was stopped, it could not defeat the government of President Chávez and it could take over the control of the most important petroleum resources of the continent. The workers and the people mobilized in the streets defeated it in April 2002, in the oil management lockout and in the referendum of August 2004.

The victories of the Venezuelan revolution have strengthened the struggle of the peoples of the world and especially to those of Latin America. The Venezuelan people has achieved important social victories like the social Missions, the increment of the democratic freedoms and laws of social inclusion. The worker’s movement experiences co-management and the worker’s control of some companies, creating new working and popular organizations that also are big victories of the revolutionary process. In this frame, the National Union of Workers (UNT) has been born, which is the largest labor union in the country headed by its leaders Orlando Chirino and Stalin Pérez Borges, which is defined as a “autonomous, democratic, solidarity and internationalist movement, classist and independent ”.

Also, the Forum takes place when again imperialism attacks the sovereignty of Venezuela by pressing Spain and Brazil not sell to Venezuela military airplanes arguing that “ this would jeopardize the security” of the United States.

The reality of Venezuela and its fight against Bush, must force that in this Social Forum this experience is debated, along with a unitary plan of actions in defense of Venezuela, in support to the Iraqi people, against the FTAA, the IMF and the foreign debt, among other anti-imperialist points of struggle.

The Debate About the Socialism of the XXIst Century

One of the central issues in the forum will be which is the option to neoliberalism and the capitalist globalization. In this sense, it is necessary to recognize President Chávez for encouraging the discussion on the need to do without capitalism and to build Socialism. When in the world it had been said that capitalism had triumphed and that the struggle for socialism was cancelled.

We think that the Social Forum is a perfect place for the discussion about the socialistic perspective and the different positions that on the table. It is necessary to evaluate the proposal of President Chávez about Socialism of the XXIst century, which is synthesized in 10 dissertations for the “forward jump“, which supports that it is necessary to protect private property and promote private investment in agreement with the State to achieve the development of the nation. From our point of view, this is mistaken and we want to have a frank debate with the fighters and activists of the world who have sympathy for President Chávez and his proposals. Undoubtedly the Forum is a big opportunity to advance in this discussion. For us it is not possible to advance to socialism, that is to say, construct a solution to the worker’s problems and the people, if there is not advances in breaking with the IMF, with the payments of the foreign debt, with the expropriation of the multinational corporations, if the nationalization of the banking sector and foreign commerce are not nationalized, the elimination of the property landowner giving the land to the peasants to increase their agricultural production and to avoid the import of foodstuff, as it presently happens in Venezuela. Or as the leader of the UNT, Orlando Chirino says: it is necessary “ that the revenues of the country coming from petroleum sales is used in a plan to service the workers and the people, and not for the businessmen and multinational companies”, that are still working in association with PDVSA.

Cuba during the 60s showed that there is any other way but to break with imperialism and the big bourgeois society. In 1961 Cuba declared socialism, there was a large expropriation the majority of the big Cuban bourgeoisies and the large Yankee companies. From then, the Cuban people progressed despite the Yankee blockade. The Nicaragua of the 80’s did not take this way, failed and could not overcome its levels of poverty. For us another world is possible only under socialism with democracy for the hard-working people.


There is no other possible world with governments like those of Lula and Kirchner

Till now, the different editions of the Social Forum were weak in that they could not achieve unitary plans of action but only declarations and a few actions.

The organizers of the Social Forum, like the director of Le Monde Diplomatique, Ignacio Ramonet, he recognizes it: " it runs the risk of transforming itself into a sort of international Fair of affiliations, a world lounge of the civil society ” (magazine Nº 79). But Ramonet does not advance in the causes of this crisis, of the character of fair that it could adopt definitively the Social Forum and reaffirms that the WSF “is a political strong and innovative project ”.

We have another vision. The Social Forum is positive because it is an event that allows thousands and thousands of people from all over the world meet to mobilize, to debate and to look for new alternatives to face and to defeat the capitalist - imperialist system. But the crisis is inherit in the wrong political project of the organizers of the event, between them the European social democracy, the PT of Brazil, sectors of the Church of Brazil, Le Monde Diplomatique and different ONGs. The central slogan has been “Another World is Possible” for which they propose to redistribute the wealth without breaking either with capitalism or with the IMF. Thinking about how to press and to negotiate with them, or looking for a capitalism with human face.

For years it was postulated as an example of this system Lula's government and the PT of the Brazil, which has had as objective to govern with the business sectors, with other political parties of the system, compromising with the IMF and the multinationals or privatizing the retirements plans of the public workers. Lula's government and the PT abandoned the historical claims of the workers and the people of Brazil. And now Lula's government and its own party are immersed in a debacle for the corruption to the service of voting for laws favoring the business sector. This is the crisis of the Forum of Porto Alegre (so it is not by chance that this Forum takes place now in Venezuela).

The experience of the PT in Brazil showed that the political project of the organizers of the WSF does not have future. There is no redistribution of wealth for the workers, the peasants and the young people, by governing with the businessmen and his politicians, as well as without taking deep measures. It is an utopia. Another world is possible only when breaking with the IMF, not paying the foreign debt and expropriating the multinational companies.

Half objectives are not the solution. That's why it is also false what Lula and Kirchner now say, of Argentina, that paying the foreign debt to the IMF “we become independent”. It is back the other way round, they are paying a fraudulent debt when these thousands of million of dollars should be used overturned for wage increases, more jobs, more education and health programs.

For the unit and a program of struggle against imperialism and its plans

We have to prioritize in the Social Forum of Caracas, the search of all forms of unity to impel mobilizations and all kinds of coordinated actions internationally to face Bush and imperialism.

Beyond the political differences that we could have with President Chávez and his government, we admit that Venezuela is a country independent from imperialism and that is why the US maintains different forms of aggression against Venezuela and the Bolivarian Government. Confronting this reality, we call for an unconditional defense of the revolutionary process and of President Chávez against any imperialist aggression. Now in particular, for example, the Social Forum has to declare oneself categorically against the prohibition of selling warplanes and call upon the governments of Spain and Brazil to fulfill their commitments of delivering the airplanes Venezuela.

The support to Venezuela against the imperialism there must be an unconditional support to the resistance of the Iraqi people against the Yankee invaders and the Allied Forces, like the support of the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel and the imperialist Zionism. The military defeat of the Yankees in Iraq would open the possibility of another Vietnam that would strengthen the struggle of all the peoples of the world against the empire.

In the Summit of the Peoples of Mar del Plata, Argentina, a big mobilization took place against Bush and in particular against the FTAA. The Forum of Caracas must give continuity to this mobilization throwing new actions. The defeat of FTAA would be a big victory for the Latin-American people. Neither FTAA, nor MERCOSUR nor none of the commercial agreements established under the umbrella of the United States, the national bourgeoisie and the multinationals are a real integration and solution for the workers and the peoples. We reject the bilateral agreements of free trade that ass-kissing governments like that of Vicente Fox of Mexico, or from governments agents of US like those of Uribe, Toledo, Lagos, among others. Thousands of students went out to the streets in Quito, Ecuador, to repudiate the increase in transportation, as well as the agreements of free trade. We support the struggle for the nationalization of the hydrocarbons in Bolivia and for re-instating the privatizations of the 90’s in the entire continent, putting the services under the control of the workers. We need another integration that would unite us in the struggle for the Second Latin-American Independence.

The ALBA as opposition to the FTAA, and commercial unity between Venezuela and Cuba, is a positive step because it breaks with the criminal blockade imposed during more than 40 years by the US. The ALBA might turn into something better and the beginning of a big and powerful continental anti-imperialist integration if it was advancing towards a Front of Debit Countries to break with the IMF and not to pay the foreign debt, headed by Venezuela and Cuba. For the time being, the proposal of both governments is not this. Imagine the force that would be created if Chávez would call for the constitution of this Front, along with Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. We believe that in the Forum it would be necessary to discuss proposals such as this to bring them forward. It will be possible to say that the governments of Lula, Tabaré Vásquez or Kirchner would not accept. But a call from Chávez and Evo Morales would produce a support and friendliness in million of workers, peasants and young people of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina and of all Latin Americans which could open a way of massive mobilization that would push the Yankees and poppet governments against the ropes.

Let's defend Venezuela of the imperialist aggression!!!. Bush get out of Iraq and of Latin America!!!. Not to the FTAA!!!. Not to the blockade to Cuba!!!. Not to the IMF!!!. Troops out of Haiti!!! Down with the Plan Colombia!!! We support the struggle of the Bolivian people for the nationalization of the oil and gas industries!!! For a Front of Debit Countries to reject payment of the foreign debt!!!

For the unit of the socialist revolutionary sectors

The Social Forum also is a new opportunity to exchange experiences on the emergence of new groups of struggle and also of new trade union and political leaders.

In the world there is a process of rebellion of the bases, of rupture against the political parties and political leaders who apply the plans of the capitalist globalization as of the trade union bureaucrats of the working movement. And there is a search of new leaders and new political alternatives. This is made clear in the struggles against governments that a little time earlier were chosen by the people and later were brought down by the people, as it happened in Ecuador with Lucio Gutiérrez. Also it is made clear in the elections of Bolivia where for the first time a presidential election is won by a leading native - peasant as Evo Morales.

In Venezuela the working movement has been one of the big protagonists of the revolutionary process, confronting imperialism head on and the trade union traitors as Carlos Ortega. This led to the emergence of the UNT as central piece of labor union and to the emergence of a stream of working classist and combative leaders. In Bolivia the COB became stronger, the working and popular organizations of struggle of El Alto like COR and the Fejuve. Also new political expressions happen as the emergence of the PRS (Revolution and Socialism Party) in Venezuela, which proposes to develop the worker’s, rural, and popular power, with participation and protagonist of the peoples to achieve that the control of the government is exercised directly by the workers.

In Brazil, before the discredit of the PT, there was the emergence of new party on the left, the PSOL, which recaptures the flags of struggle for the socialism left by Lula some time ago. New party headed by fighters as Heloisa Helena and deputies Babá and Luciana Genro.

Millions in the world look for new leaders and new organizations that head the struggles towards the victory and that do not betray. The Forum of Caracas also must serve to know these new experiences and to group all revolutionary sectors that defend a strategy of consistent anti-imperialist, anti-capitalism and socialistic struggle.

Signatures: Babá, federal deputy PSOL/RJ, Miguel Malheiros Araújo, Adolfo Santos, National Bureau PSOL-Brasil. Orlando Chirino, Miguel Angel Hernández, Emilio Bastidas, Armando Guerra, members of the Revolution y Socialism Party (PRS) Venezuela. Liliana Olivero, deputy for Córdoba, Daniel Campos (ex deputy of Buenos Aires), Miguel Sorans, Daniel Polaco, MST El Socialista-Argentina. Orlando Arias y Fidel Piratova, members of the Consejo Editorial de El Polista, publication of members of the Democratic Alternative Polo of Colombia. Enrique Fernández Chacón (ex deputy) Uníos en la Lucha-Perú. Members of UIT-CI (International Workers Union - IV International).

www.uit-ci.org

e-mail:: opinaellector@elsocialista-mst.org homepage:: http://www.uit-ci.org

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