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26 january 2001
porto alegre, brazil
friends of the earth joins march for life
in porto alegre
An international Friends of the Earth
delegation, with representatives from Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Great Britain, the Middle
East, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay
joined over 15,000 other protesters in the
'Marcha pela Vida' through the streets of
Porto Alegre, Brazil yesterday. The
protesters were demonstrating their will to
work together to put an end to the burden of
third world debt, trade liberalization,
social exclusion and the destruction of the
environment, all under the slogan 'No to
Neoliberalism, Another World is
Possible'.
The March followed the official opening of
the World Social Forum at the packed
auditorium of the University of Porto Alegre,
where delegates from 120 countries were
gathered in a mood that can best be described
as 'spirited and determined'. Unemployed
workers, landless peasants, poets and writers
welcomed the delegates to the four-day
conference with drumming, theatre
performances and dance. The mayor of Porto
Alegre and the governor of the state of Rio
Grande do Sul expressed their hopes that the
Forum would be a decisive step in bringing an
end to neoliberalism.
"We are very happy that so many came to
Brazil to witness what Brazilian movements of
landless peasants, environmentalists,
indigenous peoples and workers are doing
every day to resist the effects of harsh
economic policies imposed upon them", said
Lucia Ortiz of Friends of the Earth Brazil.
"But not only do they oppose these policies;
they replace them with concrete alternatives
based on the right of people to determine
their own lives and not be bullied around by
others."
"This is all very moving," said Johan
Frijns, coordinator of the International
Financial Institutions programme of Friends
of the Earth International. "There is not a
trace of the cynicism you sometimes see in
Europe when it comes to 'changing the world'.
Of course we can, and we will sit down
together here and figure out how to do
it."
In the coming days, Friends of the Earth
will present its trade & environment,
ecological debt and international financial
institutions programmes in series of
workshops.
Friends of the Earth International is also
present at the World Economic Forum in
Davos.
For information about FoEI's activities
there, contact:
Tony Juniper: ++44-771-284 32 07 (24-30
January)
Miriam Behrens, Pro Natura/FoE Switzerland:
++41-792- 160 206 (24-30 January)
For more information or press contacts at
the World Social Forum in Brazil,
contact:
Friends of the Earth temporary office, Porto
Alegre: ++55 51 320 3683
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