Chavez Challenged to Take Strong Stand against WTO at World Social Forum

The 6th World Social Forum held in Caracas, Venezuela, provided the shot in the arm needed by this annual gathering of global civil society. The WSF had come under fire, even from some of its key founders, for simply recycling the discussions of previous fora with no discernible direction and goal. In Caracas, controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged the WSF to come up with an action agenda. In return, he was challenged by international civil society leaders to take a strong stand against the World Trade Organization.

In Caracas, discussions at the seminars and workshops appeared to have a more urgent note than in the previous gatherings. The 52,000 participants met for seven days in an atmosphere quite unlike sedate Porto Alegre. In contrast to Porto Alegre, which is located in one of the richer areas of Brazil, Caracas is a more typically Third World city