IV338 - March 2002

Every day Argentina slides further into crisis. Industrial production fell by 20% in December. Tens of thousands of people are falling into poverty every day.

Some images recall the Paris Commune of 1871. Not because they are comparable events, of course, but because they bring to mind Marx’s phrase, ’the political form at last discovered’. Pre-revolutionary crisis, dual power, revolutionary days, insurrectionary situation.

Do a quick search of the Web on the terms Enron and Argentina and you mostly get either references comparing the two, or a recent satire in which Kenneth Lay claims immunity by claiming Enron IS Argentina. You might even stumble on the Mother Jones article detailing Dubya’s lobbying of the Argentine government on behalf of Enron when he was governor of Texas.

A great leap forward was made between the first World Social Forum (WSF) last year and the second, which took place in Brazil from January 31 to February 5, 2002. A new international solidarity was developed.

In the face of continuing deterioration in the living conditions of people, we, social movements from all around the world, have come together in the tens of thousands at the second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. We are here in spite of the attempts to break our solidarity.

ENRON, America’s seventh largest company, has collapsed. The firm had lied about its profits and stands accused of a range of shady dealings. Enron had pushed hard for and profited mightily from deregulation of energy markets.

The Palestinian tragedy is the consequence of the imperial globalisation policy that is based on oppression, occupation and unlimited support for Israel in its regional aggression.

While the war rhetoric from the Indian and Pakistan governments continues, it is important to note that, since 1947 when British rulers left the subcontinent transferring power to the local bourgeoisie and creating two nations on the basis of religion, India and Pakistan have fought three full-fledged wars and a mini-war in 1999.

Private business is rapidly replacing the public sector in China. Rapid economic growth and corruption is leading to huge social tensions. Will China present a challenge to US economic and political domination in the coming decades?

The privatisations and opening to foreign capital have been characterized systematically - from Albania to Russia, Romania and the Czech Republic - by recurring corruption scandals, rigged financial deals and privatisations of state functions.