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US Greens to Attend the World Social Forum in Caracas GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES Monday, January 23, 2006 Contacts: U.S. Greens to attend the 2006 World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 24-29 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Members of the Green Party of the United States will be among the 100,000 social activists from nations throughout the Americas attending the World Social Forum (WSF) in Caracas, Venezuela, January 24 to 29. Greens heading to Caracas for the WSF include Patrick Barrett, Peter Camejo, James M Leas, Ben Manski, and George Martin. Mr. Camejo, former Green candidate for Governor of California and independent candidate Ralph Nader's 2004 running mate for the White House, will speak at a January 27 meeting of U.S. participants during the WSF. Mr. Martin will represent United For Peace and Justice <http://www.unitedforpeace.org>, a coalition of U.S. organizations that oppose the U.S. invasion andoccupation of Iraq. "The World Social Forum convenes as a popular response to the annual meeting of heads of state and corporate leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland," said Julia Willebrand, co-chair of the Green Party's International Committee. "The WSF's dedication to social and economic justice, democracy, and environmental concerns stands in opposition to the Davos agenda based on corporate profit, 'free market' ideology, and use of military and police forces, government subsidies, and international treaties to advance the power of wealthy ruling elites. The Green Party's mission and platform are consistent with the WSF's -- Greens in the U.S. and other nations are the political arm of the movement that unites every year at the WSF." Greens attending the WSF will not officially represent the U.S. Green Party, because the WSF's Charter of Principles states that it is a non-governmental and non-party entity. Mr. Manski is a fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution <http://www.LibertyTreeFDR.org>; Mr. Barrett is organizer for the Midwest Social Forum <http://www.MWSocialForum>. "Growing numbers of people in the U.S. are looking to the democratic developments in the rest of the Americas and asking how similar changes might happen here. The growth of a democratic alternative to the so-called Washington Consensus is a sign of hope for Americans across the hemisphere," said Mr. Manski, a former co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. Simultaneous WSFs are planned for Bamako, Mali, and Karachi, Pakistan. The three meetings in 2006 follow the single global meeting that was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2005. The meeting in Caracas is significant in 2006 because it recognizes the challenges that some governments in South America (especially those led by Presidents Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and President-elect Michelle Bachelet of Chile) pose to the U.S., especially to the Bush Administration's pro-corporate agenda and attempt to control fossil fuel industries in the Western Hemisphere; U.S. military incursions in Colombia and threats against Venezuela and Cuba; and U.S.-backed international trade agreements that have damaged democracy, worker and environmental protections, and economic conditions throughout the Americas. Ben Manski will speak on two panels at the WSF: "Prospects for a Democracy Movement in the U.S.", and "An Internal Clash
of Civilizations: Corporatization of Public Services in the U.S." Patrick Barrett will speak on three panels: "New Forms of
Participatory Democracy in the Americas", "The Latin American Left", and "Social Forums Around the World." MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States World Social Forum On site coverage by Sari Gelzer of the WSF in Caracas, in truthout.org U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, January 2007 Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide "World Social Forum: The Great Debate in a Land of Change"
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