PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL — Two events last weekend made it crystal clear that the global social justice movement is alive and kicking.

In New York City, thousands demonstrated against corporate globalization at the World Economic Forum (WEF). It was an entirely peaceful demonstration. As one demonstrator put it, “just being on the streets here was confrontation enough.”

Even more significant was the massive World Social Forum (WSF) held in Porto Alegre. Not only did the anti-corporate globalization movement attend in force, but so did every other movement for social change. It added up to 80,000 participants from 150 countries.

The key words were convergence and diversity. Convergence means that the ideologies and movements represented at the forum are evolving to similar perspectives. Diversity meaning that, instead of ripping each other apart over differences, people can respect each other’s differences and still work together.

At the WSF, everyone — from Marxists to civil-rights activists, from feminists to liberation theologists, from anarchists to trade union leaders — concentrated on the rather considerable agreement amongst them.

As one activist from India put it, “The situation in the world is so urgent, we have to put aside differences of ideology and ego and focus on the our common project to build a better world.”

The social movements of Latin America and Brazil — as well as a new kind of socialist party, the Workers Party of Brazil — lead the way. This part of South America has perhaps been most devastated by the inequalities of corporate globalization, or neo-liberalism, as they call it here.

Africa may be poorer, but Brazil and Argentina have known a better life. Cheap imports have dramatically de-industrialized these countries. Capital flight, especially in Argentina, has destroyed the economy. The Argentine government followed all the rules — privatization, deregulation, cuts in social services, opening up to foreign capital — and their economy has tanked.

Opposition to corporate globalization started long before the West heard of demonstrations where people bang pots and pans. Argentina’s movement of unemployed workers has been blocking roads to demand jobs for several years. In December, the middle class joined them. Together, they have stimulated an extraordinary popular protest.

In Brazil, the Workers Party (PT) has 55 per cent support at a national level because, where it’s in government, it is rooted in a tradition of direct participation by citizens. In addition, the party is closely allied to many groups, like the massive Landless Peasants’ Movement and trade unions.

In Porto Alegre, people decide all new capital expenditures through a participatory budget. The poor are most active in the budget process, and women make up half of the delegates to the budget assemblies. In other parts of the Brazil, the PT is taking participatory democracy even further, through ideas like People’s Assemblies.

Back to the WSF: delegates here agreed to make environmental sustainability a top priority. Discussions revealed that a vast majority of participants from developing countries believe that continuing growth would end not only in environmental destruction, but also in even greater gaps between rich and poor.

The forum reminded me a little of the Toronto Film Festival. One could only participate in a fraction of the hundreds of events. But it was the spirit that was the most moving. Colourful, spirited demonstrations happened every day on a variety of issues. The biggest ones, involving more than 25,000 people, were against corporate globalization and the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

On the last day on the five-day forum, a massive rally of tens of thousands of participants jammed an auditorium. Many sang and danced for hours.

It was far from perfect, though. Men dominated on the panels. Young people were mostly segregated in the youth camp. So much discussion centred around participatory democracy, yet the size of the gathering made it almost impossible to practice it. Outside the forum itself, an anarchist occupation of an empty building showed that housing is a problem, even in Porto Alegre, a city run by the Workers Party.

The last time I was at an international meeting of social activists was in 1995 in Beijing, China, where feminists met while the United Nations Conference on Women was held. I was impressed then by the common analysis of how corporate globalization was hurting women most, whether they were from the South or the North. Everyone agreed that we needed something other than neo-liberalism on the one hand and religious fundamentalism on the other, but no one proposed concrete alternatives.

In Porto Alegre, these kinds of options came up at almost every discussion. The theme of the event was “A better world is possible.” In the midst of all the meetings, demonstrations and parties, it wasn’t too hard to believe.

Judy Rebick

Judy Rebick

Judy Rebick is one of Canada’s best-known feminists. She was the founding publisher of rabble.ca , wrote our advice column auntie.com and was co-host of one of our first podcasts called Reel Women....