Chavez ends WSF with call to transcend capitalism
By Cleto A. Sojo
This article was first published at Venezuelanalysis.com.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was warmly received at the 2005 edition of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he held several meetings with local leaders, intellectuals and activists, and gave the closing speech in Gigantinho Stadium. Chávez generated great interest among forum participants, many of whom see him and his project of political transformations being implemented in Venezuela as an inspiration in the struggle for a better world.
The Venezuelan president visited the Lagoa do Junco agrarian settlement in Tapes set up by Brazil's Landless Movement (MST) and later held a press conference with more than 120 media organisations, where he criticised the US government for claiming to lead a fight against terrorism while undermining democracy in Venezuela.