From Porto Alegre Velez stated that the WSF is the promoter of a new “political culture” which has served to educate new generations of activists against capitalist neoliberalism since the beginning of the 21st century.

“Ten years ago, environmentalist organizations were considered marginal, partly due to their lack of political strength”, said Velez, spokesperson of Friends of the Earth International at the International Committee of the WSF.

However, with the WSF and also the crisis implicit in capitalism, environmentalist organizations have acquired a voice of their own in the field of the social movement.

Created after a decade of the implosion of the Soviet bloc and the subsequent generalized dispersion of peoples´ organizations, the WSF has been an efficient tool to build alliances, said Velez.

According to Hildebrando, while the WSF cannot be considered a panacea, it is a helpful platform for the movements and their struggle. “The WSF will continue being a productive space while the social movements which are part of it propose more open and wider agendas”, said the member of Friends of the Earth, highlighting how necessary it is that the Federation considers this as a space for political education.

Photo: Jefferson Bernardes