Within the state, without the state
The WSF 2011 will take place in Dakar, Senegal. This is why from mid-January bus and car caravans will start their journey to Dakar from several places in Africa and Europe. When talking about government in this context, it is useful to distinguish between local authorities and the national (or federal) state. Demba Moussa Dembele, coordinator of the Forum for African Alternatives, a senegalese organization, pointed out that the municipal government of Dakar has a particularly good relationship with the movements. “The mayor is one of us”, he said, adding that the mayor has worked on themes like the foreign debt and Economic Partnership Agreements. One of the ways through which the organizing process might increase its autonomy vis-à-vis the Senegalese government is the creation of a South-based transnational organizing committee for the Dakar WSF. It remains to be seen how this and other new proposals will function in practice, but today it does seem that the process is advancing through learning. Read more