Caracas, Venezuela – Dramatic differences emerged this week among Latin American leftists at Venezuela’s World Social Forum, highlighting the region’s diverse views.
About 1,000 marchers paraded through Caracas on Friday to call attention to causes ranging from land reform to anti-globalization.
The crowd was dominated by supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but one small group calling itself Radical Critics held a sign accusing the Venezuelan president and other leaders of not taking a hard-enough stance against corporate capitalism.
Chavez has used a windfall in oil profits to funnel millions of dollars into programs for the poor while extending preferential oil deals to China, Argentina and other countries in an effort to line up alternative trade partners to the United States, the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan oil.
Some radical leftists argued Chavez’s government should stop working with transnational oil companies altogether.
“Real social fighters like us cannot be indifferent,” said Maria Aparecida Barros, a 21-year-old Brazilian.
Yorlys Alvarez, a Venezuelan watching from the sidewalk, was visibly irritated by that message.
“It’s wrong for them to come here and talk badly about my president,” she said. “If they don’t like Chavez, they should go home.” Some 70,000 people were signed up for the six-day forum, organizer Moises Lares said.
Many urged the rejection of “neoliberal” economic policy and the U.S. plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. Some discussed cooperatives and Soviet-style communism, while others suggested the free market can be fair if guided by a social conscience.
Chavez called capitalism a global scourge on Friday and urged activists to do “battle” against U.S. imperialism. His message drew thundering applause from thousands in attendance, but some said they were more concerned about other issues.
“The forum definitely has a pro-Chavez spin, and I think some of the issues, like women’s rights, homosexuality and domestic violence, haven’t received enough focus,” said Ibrivria Fried, an 18-year-old student from the University of Vermont.
“A lot of people at the forum are careful about how they speak about Chavez because it’s being hosted here,” she said.
Hundreds held their own alternative forum, accusing the main event of straying from its freethinking leftist roots and serving as a propaganda tool for Chavez’s government.
Enzo Tomatis, a 24-year-old Peruvian student activist, said he wholeheartedly supports Chavez’s socialist and anti-imperialist ideology, but is uncomfortable with the former paratroop commander’s military history.
“Chavez has great programs. The problem is that he’s from the military,” Tomatis said. “I’m against rule by a caudillo.” The main gathering, timed to coincide with the market-friendly World Economic Forum in Switzerland, has featured hundreds of panel discussions on subjects including poverty, U.S. imperialism, Marxism and racism.
“It’s great to hear the different points of view,” said Jose Mejias, a 22-year-old Quechua Indian from Bolivia. “After all the debates, I still don’t know whether there is one left, or two lefts or more. The only thing I know is there are many people concerned and working to change the world.” The forum came as leftist leaders appear on the rise in Latin America, capitalizing on disillusionment with old political classes seen as corrupt and incompetent.
Hundreds of young people camped out in parks, sharing food, music and at times marijuana, while some older, generally wealthier visitors dined on sushi at the Hilton.
Roselyne Clement, an activist from Montreal, was among those who camped in the drizzle and said she would never have stayed in a corporate hotel.
“For me, it’s like a contradiction,” she said.
“What it means to be of the left is in full debate in Latin America, and there is no consensus,” said Margarita Lopez Maya, a Venezuelan historian who was among many speakers at the forum, which ends Sunday.
