IPS, INTERVIEWS WALDEN BELLO ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE WSF.

ALEJANDRO KIRK OF THE INTER PRESS SERVICE
,
The WSF as an "open space" idea can either be implemented in a liberal
direction or in a committed, progressive direction, says Walden Bello,
senior analyst of Focus on the Global South.

IPS: How do you see the WSF's World Day of Action. How effective can it be?”

WB: I think the WSF Day of Action is a good idea.  It is a first step in
moving the WSF from being simply a forum for discussion to becoming an
arena for action. It will push people into actively taking on issues and
mobilizing for them. Being local actions being undertaken globally, the
many protest activities will also underline the transnational character
of the social movements in the WSF, which is one of their key strengths.

IPS: You have suggested that the WSF turns into a "new form". How do you
see the future and shape of the WSF?

WB: Taking stands on key issues like US aggression in the Middle East,
Zionist oppression of the Palestinian people, and the poverty-creating
neoliberal paradigm is vital to making the WSF vibrant and relevant.
Refusing to take stands on the grounds that these will drive away some
people is a sure way of ultimately making a movement irrelevant.  The
movements that advance and grow are those that are not afraid to take
stands on the vital issues of our times.  I am not talking about staking
stands on 1001 issues but on the core issues of our times, maybe about
six or seven of them. The WSF as an "open space" idea can either be
implemented in a liberal direction or in a committed, progressive
direction. Being partisan on issues that advance justice, equality, and
democracy should be seen as a virtue, not as a stance to be shunned.

IPS: What is the right balance between political action in the from of
political parties and within the socal movement? How can this have an
impact in Southeast Asia?

WB: Political parties continue to be important vehicles for political
transformation. However, social movements should see parties as one
vehicle for transformation and should use other institutions and
agencies, like unions and NGOs, to push their agenda.  The vanguardist
or Leninist party subordinating civil society organizations and
movements to one overriding objective -- seizing political power -- is
obsolete and dysfunctional.  Transformation must take place along
several fronts, and the process is just as important as the goal.

Social movements must push for the instititutionalization of mechanisms,
such as national assemblies of social movements, that could serve as a
check on the bureaucracy, parliament, and other political bodies.  Civil
society should aggressively serve as a counterweight to both the state
and the private sector. Civil society is a key actor in reinvigorating
the democratic revolution, which has ossified into electoralism in most
countries in the North and South.

IPS: Since the first WSF, Latin America has experienced a spectacular
shift to the left, in different shapes. What has this development to do
with the WSF? Do you think this process will lead to meaningful change
or will it eventually turn righwards?

WB: Well, I think the WSF emerged from a process in Latin America where
social movements were, as in Brazil, shaking up the traditional
institutions of political representation. The Workers' Party in Brazil
was, in its initial stages, an energetic hybrid of political party and
social movement that captured the allegiance and imagination of the
masses. However, a new stage was reached when the Workers' Party became
a serious contender for power. It  became "professionalized" and began
attracting middle class elements that were interested only in limited
social transformation. Then, in the last few years, during the Lula
presidency, the state and the ancien regime have captured the Workers'
Party.

At the same time, in Venezuela, a charismatic relationship between a
populist president and the urban poor became the vehicle for change in a
country with weak social movements.  Then in Bolivia and Ecuador, we had
social movements with strong roots in the indigenous people achieve
power electorally and begin, unlike in Brazil, a transformation of the
state.

IPS: How do these developments reflect in the WSF?

WB: All of these developments have been reflected in the WSF, where, as
in the continent from which it sprang, there are contending political
tendencies in the ranks of the people.  You have trends that are closer
to the People's Party tendency and others that are closer to the
Venezuelan and Bolivian tendency.

What is important though is that the WSF and its associated movements
remain independent of governments and parties and maintain their ability
to criticize governments when they conciliate the US and neoliberalism,
like Brazil under Lula, and lend critical support to governments like
those of Venezuela and Bolivia.

They should be able to express broad support for an initiative like the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) while criticizing some of
its more controversial plans like the building of oil and gas pipelines
from Venezuela to Argentina, which would create ecological problems and
destabilize indigenous peoples.

Provided they remain independent of one another, social movements like
the WSF and the new progressive governments can develop a healthy,
positive relationship.

17 January 2008

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Focus on Trade is a regular electronic bulletin providing updates and
analysis of trends in regional and world trade and finance, the
political economy of globalisation and peoples resistance, and
alternatives to global capitalism. Nicola Bullard edits Focus on Trade.
Your contributions and comments are welcome. Write to n.bullard@focusweb.org

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