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[. . . based on the realities of rural life and agrarian reform in Brazil]
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WORLD SOCIAL FORUM COVERAGE
by Tiffany Kearney
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Another World is Possible
It's hard to imagine that almost a year has passed since Kate Cunningham, Nicole Jaquis, Kelly Riley, Enrique Pujals, and I arrived in Brazil to begin laying the groundwork for the documentary film, Terra Livre/Free Land. We got together in Porto Alegre to attend this year's World Social Forum (WSF), an open air symposium in which over 100,000 people representing more than 170 countries took part in conferences, panels, and informal discussions focused on finding alternatives to the social and economic policies promoted by corporate-driven globalization. Looking back, we couldn't have asked for a better introduction to begin uncovering the strength that empowers activists and grassroots movements across the globe. Our main motivation was to begin
pre-production work towards Terra Livre/Free Land, a documentary
centered on a small cooperative farm in rural Brazil that exists
against the backdrop of a larger movement of Landless Workers known
as the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra). As a
member of the Forum's organizing committee, the movementís
presence was strong, and enabled us to gain access to well-known
leaders like Joao Pedro Stedile and other members and activists
from around Brazil and the world. While camping out with thousands
of others would have been an interesting experience, we opted to
take our generous host, Gustavo Mendes, up on his offer for more
comfortable accommodations at his apartment, not far from the Catholic
University referred to as PUC (pronounced "pooki" in Portuguese),
the WSF's hub.
Aside from renewing the process
towards envisioning a better world, the overriding themes of this
yearís Forum, aptly named, "Another World is Possible",
were: 1) sustainable and democratic development; 2) human rights,
diversity, and equality; 3) strengthening the voices of independent
media and culture; 4) political power and civil society; and, 5)
world peace in exchange for war. Individual conferences dealt with
diverse themes including the evils of war and fundamentalism, the
perilous position of the global financial system, and the inalienable
right for all people to both land and food.
The intent of this year's WSF was
to shift discussion from analysis to action and encourage delegates
to leave with concrete proposals. Throughout the week, it seemed
like many participants were at least making or strengthening contacts
that would help them continue their own work in each of the thematic
areas once outside the Forum. Speakers helped provide a framework,
and after one event we followed thousands of people as they gathered
to hear the emotional opening plenary delivered by the recently
elected and much loved President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio "Lula"
da Silva. Other speakers were well known activists, academics, and
writers, including: Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, co-authors
of, "Empire"; Eduardo Galeano, author of the classic,
"Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage
of a Continent"; Leonardo Boff, considered the father of the
Liberation Theology movement; and, Hebe de Bonafini, a founder of
Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of mothers who for the past
25 years have demonstrated every Thursday in the main square in
Buenos Aires to hold the government accountable for the estimated
30,000 people who ìdisappearedî under the repressive
military dictatorship in Argentina throughout the 1970s.
The sheer number of events that
were happening all over Porto Alegre had a dizzying affect, but
focusing on the MST brought us back to our initial purpose. Through
local contacts, we had the opportunity to spend an afternoon at
the local Senate building and interviewed the youngest Congresswoman
in Brazil, Luciana Genro. The same contact put us in touch with
Miguel Stedile, an MST activist who grew up with the movement. Through
follow up phone calls to Miguel, we were able to pinpoint where
concentrations of MST members would be each day, eventually leading
us to rent a car and follow a caravan of buses (complete with a
police escort) two hours outside of Porto Alegre to attend a meeting
at an MST cooperative called 30 de Maio (May 30th). Noam Chomsky
(celebrated MIT professor of linguistics, writer, and social activist)
was due to speak at the Forum that same afternoon, so it was a tough
decision, vindicated when we found out that Professor Chomsky postponed
his panel discussion to join the group there at the farm. We had
the pleasure of filming Chomsky while he planted a ceremonious tree
and shot an intimate monologue about the power of the MST and ways
in which each one of us can be involved in influencing social change.
Back in Porto Alegre the next day,
we shot follow up footage at one of the main WSF venues, Gigantinho
(a public stadium) where roughly 10,000 people listened to Professor
Chomsky, this time seated next to Indian activist and writer, Arundhati
Roy, award winning author of a number of thought provoking books
including, "The God of Small Things", and "War Talk".
Both Roy and Chomsky confronted the aggressive stance of the US
in Iraq, and motivated thousands to be positive and continue along
the road towards redirecting the current world order. Chomsky mentioned
our day on the farm, and with cheers erupting acknowledged the MST
as "the most important and exciting popular movement in the
world". That people from different countries and walks of life
with waving flags and painted faces could together fill a stadium,
all in the name of politics, was truly inspiring.
list of the relevent and important seminars at the WSF that we filmed coming soon.
World Social Forum site (previous forums in Brazil)
World Social Forum site (upcoming forum in India) World Economic Forum site |
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