José Seoane and Emilio Taddei

From SeattIe to Porto Alegre: The

Anti-Neoliberal Globalization
Movement

The 'Social Spring' of Porto Alegre

C ontemporary political literature has frequently nladc use (cspecially

since the second half of thc 20th ccnturyj of the term 'spring' to refer to
politic~iland social cvcnts contrary to the existing order, which generatc ncw
hopcs ~ n idcals
d for societv. These 'springs' o r 'springtimes' are usually
charactcrized by spontancit? and social solidarity, political originality arid
rndically democratic practice. The rnetaphoiical use of the term alludes, in thc
political and social sphcre, to a demand for change and transformation, the
ernergence of a new social order based o n solidarity which confronts an
unbcarablc prescnt burdened bv iniustice for the majority of the population.
There is no question that thesc ideals and demands for charige were what
led 15,000 pcople froin rnariy parts of thc world t o participate in thc five-day
World Social Forum (WSF) at Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 25 t o 30 january
2001. Thc halls and classrooins of the Catholic Universitv of Rio Grande d o
Su1 (PUC-RS), wherc most of the activities took place, and the strcets, parks
and cultural centres of thc city of Porto Alegre, were thc sccne of a 'social
spring' wliicli - as happcns at thesc human seasons - grcatly surpassed the
expectations for participation of al1 the cvcnt's organizers and participants.'
T h e tirst WSF was n massive democratic encounter among a large
numbcr of highlv diverse social rnolrcmcnts, labour unions, pcasant orgaiiiz-
ations, indigcnous pcople'a ~ r ~ a n i z a t i o n swomen's
, movements, militant
collectives, NGOs and social 2nd youth organizations, whose point of con-
vcrgcnce 2nd articulntion is the struggle against the neolibcral globalization
now under way, and its consequcnccs.
The cvcnt brought togcthcr al1 thc diffcrent feelings and currents of

Cuimen: S O C I O ~janu(>I\
C ~ ~ ,2OC2,?'o. 50(1]99-1 22 SAGE P ~ b l ~ c a t ~ o r l s
(lo~iclori [housond Oaas. CA ana rdew Deiiii)
1150 1 99-1 37 0232631
1 1-395 1[?0020
[,ÜO
100 Cbrrent Sociology Vol. 50 N o 1
thought that have come to comprise this rich and heterogeneous movement
n o w taking shape at the international level, and which has become highly - .

visible in the last several years, especially since the surprising mass protests
against the World Trade Organization ( W T O ) in Seattle.
In response to the impact of those protests, the dream of a World Social
Forum to be held at the same time as the World Economic Forum meeting at
Davos began to take shape early last year. A collective of Brazilian social
movenients and organizations took up the challenge, with support from the
French monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique, which had promoted
the creation of the ATTAC (Association for a Tobin Tax to Aid the Citizens)
in June 1998. The city of Porto Alegre, and its 12-year experience of demo-
cratic initiative expressed in the unprecedented participatorv budget applied
by the left-wing municipal government led by the Brazilian Workers' Party,
merited a unanimous consensus among the promoters of the idea as the best
place to hold thc event. With the enthusiastic aid - continuing throughout the
Forum - of the authorities of Rio Grande d o Su1 State and its capital, Porto
Alegre, the cal1 to hold the Forum was unanimously supported at the June
2000 meetings when this international movement held a Parallel Social
Summit paired with the United Nations event in Geneva, Switzerland. The
Porto Alegre 'spring' was nourished by al1 these efforts, and progressively
took shape under the stimulus of successive encounters and protests through-
out the year 2000.
These wills, these voices, provided the energy for the intense, exhausting
and vibrant days of the WSF. There are n o words capable of describing this
fabulous Babel at which - contrary to the biblical parable - the tumultuous
diversitv of movcments, feelings and languages proved capable of sharing
common ideas and actions. Recall the climate that prevailed in that spring.
Every day opened with four simultaneous round tables, organized around
four basic themcs addressing some of the leading problems provoked by
today's capitalist globalization.
Most of the debate focused o n two major themes: wealth and democracy
(Foro Social Mundial, 2001). Around these issues, activist intellectuals and
intellectual activists shared ideas o n the need to ensure the public character
of humankind's goods, shielding them from the logic of the market; the
construction of sustainable cities and habitats; the urgency of a fair re-
distribution of wealth and h o w to achieve it; the dimensions of the political,
economic 2nd militarv. hegemony exercised by the USA and the structure of
u

world power; the continuing validity of the concept of imperialism and the
idea of socialism (debates that had been shut down by the hegemonv of liberal
thought); gender equalitv; democratization of power; the guaranteed right to
information and democratization of the media; the need to regulate inter-
national capital movements; the future of the nation-state; and other issues,
some of which are discussed in the pages of this journal issue.