Peoples' Global Action
Encyclopedia
Peoples' Global Action is the name of a worldwide co-ordination of radical social movements, grassroots campaigns and direct actions in resistance to capitalism
and for social
and environmental
justice. PGA is part of the anti-globalization movement
.
(EZLN), which had started a grassroots uprising in the impoverished Mexican
state of Chiapas
on New Year's Day 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) came into effect.
The Zapatistas sent out an email calling for a gathering, called an 'encuentro' (encounter), of international grassroots movements to meet in specially constructed arenas in the Chiapas jungle to discuss common tactics, problems and solutions. Six thousand people attended, from over 40 countries, and declared that they would form 'a collective network of all our particular struggles and resistances...an intercontinental network of resistance against neoliberalism
... (and) for humanity'.
In August 1997, the European Zapatista support network called for a Second 'Encuentro' in Spain
, which it had planned with the Zapatistas during the 1996 encuentro. Delegates came again of movements from around the world, such as the Brazil
ian Landless Workers' Movement
(MST) who occupies unused land to create farms, and the Karnataka State Farmers Union (KKRS) from India
, renowned for their 'cremate Monsanto' campaign which involved burning fields of genetically modified
crops. Here some of the primary objectives and organisational principles of the emerging network were drafted.
In February 1998, movements from all continents met again, this time in Geneva
, where Peoples' Global Action was launched.
(not just anti-neoliberal) stand, to avoid confusion with right-wing anti-globalisers and to strengthen the perspective on gender
. The hallmarks allow organizations interested in affiliating with PGA a quick view into PGA, allowing them to determine if PGA would be a good fit for them.
These are the hallmarks in their current version:
in May 1998, involved tens of thousands of people in more than 60 demonstrations and street parties on five continents.
Subsequent Global Action Days have included the 'carnival against capital' (June 18, 1999), the 3rd World Trade Organization
summit in Seattle (November 30, 1999), the International Monetary Fund
/World Bank
meeting in Prague
(September 26, 2000), the G8
meeting in Genoa
(June 21, 2000) the 4th WTO summit in Qatar
(November 9, 2001), etc.
Decentralised mobilisations have been accompanied by strong central demonstrations. From the first mobilisation in Geneva, direct action was taken to block the summits, as this was considered the only form of action that could adequately express the necessity, not to reform, but to destroy the instruments of capitalist domination.
Groups involved in PGA have also organised Caravans, regional conferences, workshops and other events in many regions of the world. Since Geneva, Global PGA conferences have been held before WTO ministerials: in Bangalore
, India (1999), and in Cochabamba, Bolivia
(2001).
Activists from groups and grassroots organisations within the PGA network participated in the Zapatista encounter in Oventic, Chiapas at the end of 2006/ beginning of 2007, planning another Intercontinental Encounter for Summer 2007.
, in a decentralised fashion in 2006. The first 9 days were distributed over 5 sites, each with specific themes, while the last 5 days took place in a central location, the autonomous space « Les Tanneries » in Dijon
,.
The PGA is planning another European Conference in August 2008 in Northern Greece
. This is already being used by Alex Foti to promote a eurocentric
ideology: "Our political space is Europe", although this has been resisted by other factions.
During the preparation for the anti-World Trade Organization
(WTO) conference in Seattle in 1999 organised two action caravans, one from across the U.S., including activists from Chiapas, Mexico, the other from Canada
. The later ended at the congress organised by International Forum on Globalisation, described by De Fabel van de illegaal as a right wing elite think tank, which wants the Left and the Right to work together in one big movement. Mike Dolan, who worked for Ralph Nader
's Public Citizen
consumer watchdog group, was a substantial donor to and activist with the PGA. He called for support of the right wing presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
. Dolan sent around a newspaper article in which Buchanan openly says: "American workers and people first." When Dolan's actions and viewpoint were criticised from the grassroots level, Michael Morrill, the coordinator of the American PGA caravan, immediately took his side. "Let's work together when we can, work in parallel when we must, but never work against each other when our goal is the elimination of the WTO and its corporate benefactors.". This took place alongside a general reluctance of People of color to participate in the Seattle mobilisation.
In 2001, Raj Patel
and Kala Subbuswamy discussed the problem of groups like the PGA in dealing with issues of race:
In 2002, Maria Theresa Santana, Chairperson of Moyo wa Taifa (UK) - Pan-Afrikan Women's Association attended the European PGA Conference in Leiden and expressed her anger at the Eurocentric standpoint of the PGA discussions.
At the PGA regional conference in Panama
(August 2003), further concerns were raised that despite anti-hierarchical intentions, a leadership was emerging which only occasionally "got down the informations to their bases", that decisions were being made by meetings in Europe
"that Europeans were imposing their political reality and way to work", and that prominent activists were promoting sexist attitudes rooted in religious fundamentalism.
Despite these discussions the 2004 European PGA conference in Jajinci
, Belgrade
agreed that "a fascist coming as an interested individual, respecting the hallmarks and whose behaviour during the conference was fine wouldn't be a problem.". Although a rider was subsequently added, this controversy has been further fuelled by the sympathies held by Leonid Savin (the co-ordinator of the Ukraine
PGA info-point) with politics of Alexander Dugin. After Savin was shown to be an activist associated with the Eurasia Party
, the PGA Ukraine info-point was removed from the PGA website. See also National anarchism.
Nevertheless some elements within the PGA have been promoting No Borders
initiatives.
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and for social
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
and environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
justice. PGA is part of the anti-globalization movement
Anti-globalization movement
The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalisation movement, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or...
.
History
The initial inspiration for the formation of PGA came from a global meeting called in 1996 by the Zapatista Army of National LiberationZapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
(EZLN), which had started a grassroots uprising in the impoverished Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
on New Year's Day 1994 when the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) came into effect.
The Zapatistas sent out an email calling for a gathering, called an 'encuentro' (encounter), of international grassroots movements to meet in specially constructed arenas in the Chiapas jungle to discuss common tactics, problems and solutions. Six thousand people attended, from over 40 countries, and declared that they would form 'a collective network of all our particular struggles and resistances...an intercontinental network of resistance against neoliberalism
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
... (and) for humanity'.
In August 1997, the European Zapatista support network called for a Second 'Encuentro' in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, which it had planned with the Zapatistas during the 1996 encuentro. Delegates came again of movements from around the world, such as the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement
Landless Workers' Movement is a social movement in Brazil; it is the second largest social movement in Latin America with an estimated 1.5 million landless members in 23 out of Brazil's 26 states. The MST states it carries out land reform in a country it sees as mired by unjust land distribution...
(MST) who occupies unused land to create farms, and the Karnataka State Farmers Union (KKRS) from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, renowned for their 'cremate Monsanto' campaign which involved burning fields of genetically modified
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
crops. Here some of the primary objectives and organisational principles of the emerging network were drafted.
In February 1998, movements from all continents met again, this time in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, where Peoples' Global Action was launched.
Hallmarks
The PGA is an instrument for communication and coordination, not an organization. PGA has no membership and no one can speak in their name. There is no visible leadership, although continental 'convenors' are periodically elected to organise conferences and maintain important communication tools. The identity of PGA is mainly enshrined in its five hallmarks. These were first created in 1998 but have since evolved and changed during subsequent conferences, in particular to take a clearly anti-capitalistAnti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
(not just anti-neoliberal) stand, to avoid confusion with right-wing anti-globalisers and to strengthen the perspective on gender
Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
. The hallmarks allow organizations interested in affiliating with PGA a quick view into PGA, allowing them to determine if PGA would be a good fit for them.
These are the hallmarks in their current version:
- A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialismImperialismImperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and feudalismFeudalismFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalizationGlobalizationGlobalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
. - We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchyPatriarchyPatriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
, racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings. - A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbyingLobbyingLobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker. - A call to direct actionDirect actionDirect action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
and civil disobedienceCivil disobedienceCivil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism. - An organisational philosophy based on decentralisationDécentralisationDécentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....
and autonomy.
Global actions
So far, PGA's major function has been to serve as a political space for coordinating decentralised Global Action Days around the world, to highlight the global resistance of popular movements to capitalist globalisation. The first Global Action Days, during the 2nd WTO ministerial conference in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in May 1998, involved tens of thousands of people in more than 60 demonstrations and street parties on five continents.
Subsequent Global Action Days have included the 'carnival against capital' (June 18, 1999), the 3rd World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
summit in Seattle (November 30, 1999), the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
/World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
meeting in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(September 26, 2000), the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
meeting in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
(June 21, 2000) the 4th WTO summit in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
(November 9, 2001), etc.
Decentralised mobilisations have been accompanied by strong central demonstrations. From the first mobilisation in Geneva, direct action was taken to block the summits, as this was considered the only form of action that could adequately express the necessity, not to reform, but to destroy the instruments of capitalist domination.
Groups involved in PGA have also organised Caravans, regional conferences, workshops and other events in many regions of the world. Since Geneva, Global PGA conferences have been held before WTO ministerials: in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India (1999), and in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
(2001).
Activists from groups and grassroots organisations within the PGA network participated in the Zapatista encounter in Oventic, Chiapas at the end of 2006/ beginning of 2007, planning another Intercontinental Encounter for Summer 2007.
European Conference in 2008
A Peoples' Global Action gathering in Europe took place from August 19 to September 3, in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in a decentralised fashion in 2006. The first 9 days were distributed over 5 sites, each with specific themes, while the last 5 days took place in a central location, the autonomous space « Les Tanneries » in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
,.
The PGA is planning another European Conference in August 2008 in Northern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. This is already being used by Alex Foti to promote a eurocentric
Eurocentrism
Eurocentrism is the practice of viewing the world from a European perspective and with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of European culture...
ideology: "Our political space is Europe", although this has been resisted by other factions.
PGA, left-right convergence and racism
During the preparation for the anti-World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO) conference in Seattle in 1999 organised two action caravans, one from across the U.S., including activists from Chiapas, Mexico, the other from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The later ended at the congress organised by International Forum on Globalisation, described by De Fabel van de illegaal as a right wing elite think tank, which wants the Left and the Right to work together in one big movement. Mike Dolan, who worked for Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
's Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
consumer watchdog group, was a substantial donor to and activist with the PGA. He called for support of the right wing presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
. Dolan sent around a newspaper article in which Buchanan openly says: "American workers and people first." When Dolan's actions and viewpoint were criticised from the grassroots level, Michael Morrill, the coordinator of the American PGA caravan, immediately took his side. "Let's work together when we can, work in parallel when we must, but never work against each other when our goal is the elimination of the WTO and its corporate benefactors.". This took place alongside a general reluctance of People of color to participate in the Seattle mobilisation.
In 2001, Raj Patel
Raj Patel
Raj Patel is a British-born American academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United States for extended periods. He is best known for his 2008 book, Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System...
and Kala Subbuswamy discussed the problem of groups like the PGA in dealing with issues of race:
- "The principles of decentalisation and autonomy adopted by many within radical movements can also, unintentionally and remediably, be exclusionary. Many radical groups have anarchist principles behind them - non-hierarchical, consensus decision-making, often no formal structure. One problem with this is that it is often used to dismiss talk of what 'the movement' can do about issues of race and gender, on the grounds that we're not a movement, we're a collection of individuals and so we can't make decisions about the 'movement'. But UK EF! , or Peoples' Global Action, for example *are* movements, or at least networks with informal hierarchies and structuresInvisible dictatorshipAn invisible dictatorship was a term coined by Mikhail Bakunin to describe clandestine revolutionary leadership. Bakunin also used the terms invisible legion and invisible network to describe his concept of invisible dictatorship....
and unwritten rules. Every action involves a decision and a choice and it is important that these are open. For example, saying that we cannot exclude fascists from gatherings involves a choice - if people are allowed to say overtly racist comments, you exclude people of color, or at least prevent any chance of us feeling comfortable. This why at its last conference made explicit moves to overtly condemn discrimination"
In 2002, Maria Theresa Santana, Chairperson of Moyo wa Taifa (UK) - Pan-Afrikan Women's Association attended the European PGA Conference in Leiden and expressed her anger at the Eurocentric standpoint of the PGA discussions.
At the PGA regional conference in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
(August 2003), further concerns were raised that despite anti-hierarchical intentions, a leadership was emerging which only occasionally "got down the informations to their bases", that decisions were being made by meetings in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
"that Europeans were imposing their political reality and way to work", and that prominent activists were promoting sexist attitudes rooted in religious fundamentalism.
Despite these discussions the 2004 European PGA conference in Jajinci
Jajinci
Jajinci is an urban neighborhood located in the municipality of Voždovac, in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was the site of the worst carnage in Serbia during World War II when German occupational forces executed nearly 80,000 people, many of them prisoners of the nearby Banjica concentration...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
agreed that "a fascist coming as an interested individual, respecting the hallmarks and whose behaviour during the conference was fine wouldn't be a problem.". Although a rider was subsequently added, this controversy has been further fuelled by the sympathies held by Leonid Savin (the co-ordinator of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
PGA info-point) with politics of Alexander Dugin. After Savin was shown to be an activist associated with the Eurasia Party
Eurasia Party
The Eurasia Party was registered as a political party by the Ministry of Justice of Russia on 21 June 2002, approximately one year after the Pan-Russian Eurasia Movement was established by Aleksandr Dugin...
, the PGA Ukraine info-point was removed from the PGA website. See also National anarchism.
Nevertheless some elements within the PGA have been promoting No Borders
No Border network
The No Border Network refers to loose associations of autonomous organisations, groups, and individuals in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and beyond...
initiatives.
External links
- PGA encounters in Europe
- Peoples' Global Action website
- MP3 Account of the formation of the PGA
- Breaking the Silence Archives, Gender discussion preparations for 3rd European Peoples Global Action Conference, Jajinci 2004
- PGA Europe Process Archives 2004
- Towards a global network of movements against borders
- The Invisible Network by Mayo Fuster, Mute Magazine