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WSF-Diversity takes place in downtown Porto Alegre in the opening march of the World Social Forum

“One photograph, Lilian,” the woman asked. In a smiling manner, Uruguain Lilian Celiberti positioned herself next to a group of women accompanying a cheerful car that displayed an enormous mouth with the words “Your mouth is  fundamental against fundamentalism.” Twenty five years after her and her companion were kidnapped in Porto Alegre by agents connected to the military  dictatorship of the time, her photograph had now been taken.

The young,  leftist militant of the 1970´s is now a woman with gray hair, but still in the same disposition to participate in the “Diversity March Against War.”  The opening of the third annual World Social Forum took place in the downtown streets of Porto Alegre Thursday evening beginning at 6:00 p.m. The  torrential rain that had been falling since the early morning hours ended  late afternoon. While accused by their critics of being the “one-and-only thought” forum,  the march was marked by cultural diversity, languages, religions, races, and  principally—ideas. In the front group, for example, directors of the  Workers Party (PT)—among them, José Genoíno, Aloísio Mercadante, Miguel Rossetto, Jaques Wagner, Olívio Dutra, Humberto Costa, Eduardo Suplicy,  Elvino Bom Gass, Paulo Ferreira, Marta Suplicy and Ivar Pavan—posed for pictures and applauded to the public.

A short distance behind them, however, militants from the Unified Workers Socialist Party (PSTU) did not economize their words of skepticism about President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “Lula, I want to see the referendum against Alca (Área de Livre Comércio das Américas) happen.” Cuban flags, Che Guevara t-shirts, and  militant communists all mixed together with the members of the movements of Religions for Peace (Religiões pela Paz)—Coalizão Ecumênica, Brahma Kumaris and Seicho-No-le, all part of the Catholic religions and Episcopal Anglican Church.

We are All Equal

“Elite people do not exist. We are all equal” were the words of a poster  displayed by a group of Palestines followed shortly behind an enthusiastic Pernambucan frevo. “Another Amazon is possible” was the word of order from  an environmental group, accompanied by protests against war and strikes in favor of agrarian reform.

A t-shirt worn by a female militant showed the message “Yes, I am black.” During their route through Borges de Medeiros Avenue—from the Largo Glenio  Peres to the Pôr-do-Sol Anfitheater—this amusement served as a meeting point. From the multicolored flag of the Gay Movement to indigenous people, femminists, defenders of environmental conservation, members of ethnic and  racial minorities, black militants, Palestines, public employees, artists, students and various workers, all united to reaffirm that another world is  possible, aside from socially just and ecologically sustainable development. (Translated by Cassie Jo Koscianski)

Jornalista Carlos Scomazzon - carlos@ecoagencia.com.br - © EcoAgência de Notícias, janeiro 2003 - http://www.ecoagencia.com.br .