(2002-02-13) d

Summary of World Social Forum by Naomi Klein. No wonder so many young people have concluded that it is not the individual policies or politicians that are the problem, but the system of centralized power itself. For this reason, much of the appeal of the World Social Forum is that its host city, Porto Alegre, has come to represent a possible challenge to this trend. The city is part of a growing political movement in Brazil that is systematically delegating power back down to people at the municipal level rather than hoarding it at the national and international levels... For instance, rather than scaling back on public services for the poor, the city has increased them substantially. I wonder what they cut instead?

In Porto Alegre last week, much of the talk was about nearby BuenosAires, where some say a revolt from the seams is already taking place. Street demonstrators aren't calling for a changing of the political guard but have instead adopted the sweeping slogan "Get rid of them all." They have concluded that it's not enough to overthrow one political party and replace it with another. They are instead attempting something infinitely more difficult: to topple an economic orthodoxy so powerful, it can withstand even its strongest advocates whipping and kicking it from the center.