Izquierda Marxista

Foro Social Europeo: la derecha domina las plataformas, la izquierda, el llano

Autor: Workers Power

Fecha: 16/11/2003

Traductor: Guillermo Crux, especial para PI

Fuente: Workers Power Global

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM: RIGHT-WING DOMINATE THE PLATFORMS, THE LEFT WING THE FLOOR
Workers Power Global, London

During 13-15 November Paris and the surrounding towns of Bobigny,
Ivry-sur-seine and St Denis, were hosts to 50,000 activists from around
Europe as they debated and networked at the second European Social Forum.

In those few days 625 plenaries, seminars and workshops took place to
which 900 or so speakers were invited; a march against war and social
injustice was held on Saturday afternoon at which 100,000 took part. The
next day an assembly of the social movements met and deliberated on
action for the coming year.

The ESF this year was roughly comparable in size to last year's event
in Florence and as in Italy the event was overwhelmingly youthful - at
least in terms of those who attended the sessions. Of course, the
platform speakers and those taking the decisions behind the scenes were much
older male and mainly bureaucrats, academics and NGO workers rather
than activists.

As in Florence the speakers at the sessions were more left wing and
radical than those on the platform. This year's forum was more right-wing
than last year since it reflected the fact that Attac took the leading
role in organising the vents, determining the main plenaries and
speakers and setting the ideological tone.

Bernard Cassen, the founder of the World Social Forum and outgoing
leader of Attac made it clear in a number of sessions that the anti-war
movement of this year had radicalised the anti-globalisation movement too
much and that a step back from the streets was needed. This 21st
century Fabian argued that the movement needed to renounce the struggle for
power and seek to persuade the good men and women who hold power in the
west to adopt some of the more reasonable and sensible policies of
Attac.

So there could no question of the movement embracing the cause of the
Iraqi resistance to the US and British occupation since this would
alienate those in power that Cassen sought to convince of the need for a
miniscule tax on short-term speculative capital flows that Attac believes
could transform capitalism.

Needless to say the vast majority at the ESF thought differently-
recognising the justice of fighting imperialism and capitalism by direct
action.

It was left to the Assembly of the Social Movements on Sunday to decide
on any action - the ESF itself being devoted to an exchange of views.
At the preparatory meeting for the Assembly on the Saturday night a
draft statement to be put to the Assembly drawn p mainly by Attac excluded
both an explicit call for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from
Iraq and an explicit call for a day of action against social cuts and
privatisations.

Eventually weak and evasive formulations were included.

"We are fighting for "the withdrawal of the occupations forces from
Iraq and for the immediate restitution of sovereignty to the Iraqi
people". We are fighting for the withdrawal form the territories occupied by
Israel and for the cessation of the construction of the wall and its
destruction. We support the movements, Israeli and Palestinian that are
struggling for just and durable peace. For this reason we will join in
the international appeal, launched in the USA by the antiwar movement and
will call for a day of action on 20 March 2004.
(....)
"We engage ourselves to take part in all the actions organised by the
social movements, in particular to build for a common day of action
supported by the social movements, notably by the European trade union
movements." We call all the social movements to make this dynamic of
mobilisations culminate in a day of action for another Europe, of the rights
of citizens and peoples, on 9 May, the date envisaged for the
ratification of the European Constitution."

Yet there are reports from several sources however that substantial
sectors of the unions (German, Italian) want a day of action and will make
a call for a date and take it to the ETUC.

The whole assembly was dominated by French speakers concentrating on
the 9 May and overall the Assembly proved a victory for the right, this
time. But there will be antiwar day on March 20th and the "social 15th
of February" may happen too if the unions agree. Certainly when anyone
mentioned the need for common action against the neoliberal attacks on
pensions, the public sector etc. there was much greater enthusiasm. On
9 May there will be an international demonstration in Rome.