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Petras and
Veltmeyer in their chapter on Resistance on a world scale
deals with a issue from a left – radical view point although
with some excesses on some points.
He rightly mentions that a review
of the resistance the politics of globalization must take into
account the great variety of social forces that have taken the
lead in different socio-economic setting with varying degrees of
intensity and a broad gamut of strategic. Nonetheless he noted
certain general tendencies that one evident beyond national and
regional specifications.
He states, ***
‘First, while electoral vehicles
have one source of opposition, extra-parliamentary action has
been the most widespread and effective applied to blocking or
limiting the application of globalist policies. Since most anti-globalist
electoral opposition is confirmed to the legislative, and a
minority at that, globalist policies continue to be applied by
executive degree and/ or through globalist influence over the
legislative. Electoral frauds, as in the case of the election of
the election of President Sila Mas in Mexico of the Executives’
blatant purchase of congressional votes, as in Brazil under
Cardoso, debilitate the role of electoral institutions; as
points of opposition. Second, center-left-electoral opposition
once elected to office, has almost uniformly assimilited the
globalist ideology in order to conform to the demands of the
leading classes, IFI, (International Financial Institution) and
the pre-existing state institutions. The most recent example is
the FMLN (Fabunda Marti para la libercion Nacional) Mayor of San
Saklvador, Hector Silva;who sees the arch-proper ants of
globalization; the IMF and the World Bank, as allies of
development process. Former revolutionary groups, upon turning
to electoral politics and entering political office in the
seventies and eighties, have almost abandoned their opposition
to globalization and accepted its postulates.’ (p.57).
He the comments, “as a result, all
the groups adversely affected by globalization have turned
towards extra-parliamentary activities and organizastion:
general strikes in France, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia,
South Korea, etc. land occupations in Brazil, Paraguay, El
Salvador, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, etc. and guerilla
movements in Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Zaire, etc.
Extra-Parliamentary movements have become the chosen form of
expression in view of the impotence and cooperation of electoral
pan…” (p.57).
Of course, it is not correct to
say that former revolutionary group after entering electoral
politics and entering political office have all abandoned their
opposition to globalization and its accepted postulates. Rather
there are instances where the revolutionary parties even while
participating in election and entering political office of
whatever form have continued their opposition to globalization
inside legislative and also organizing extra-parliamentary
activities like massive mobilization and general strikes on this
issue.
He noted the Second
characteristics shared by opposition groups is that they all
start as movement to defend rights and interests threatened b
the globalist ruling classes. He correctly states that while
initial opposing – loss of employment, privatization of public
enterprises, and cuts in social security programmes, living
standards, pension plans or public educational facilities, the
initial point of confrontation is over the aggressive roll back.
Then he observes, ‘Within this common defence of past popular
gains, some of the movements have taken the offensives and
sought to advance towards structural changes – the peasant
movement of Chiapas, Mexico, the landless workers’ movement
(MST) in Brazil, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia(FARC)
peasant movement and the Cocoa farmers of Chapara, Bolivia have
all created Co-operatives and established community-based
economy that are in opposition to globalization and towards the
developing the domestic market. As yet a minority, there is
growing anti-globalist and even incipient anti-capitalist
consciousness among the movements currently engaged in defence
struggles. (p.58). This analysis is quite correct. And these
number of disillusioned are also growing.
The third characteristic, of all
movements in opposing to globalization as the authors rightly
point out, is the tendency to form coalitions with the
environmental, gender, ethnic or racial groups and struggle, who
grimly feel that the corporate rule is inimical to the interests
they esposure. This confluence of group challenges the efforts
of the IFI and local regimes to fragment and depoliticise the
different entities into a series of self-observing and isolated
cultural organisation divorced from class-based political
struggles.(pp.57-58).
But here also, some negative
features are manifested, which the authors have missed, that
this confluence of divergent groups and lack of any homogeneity
of thinking and ideology. Some of them are definitely
anti-communists, some are of dubious credentials. These negative
features have been evident in the World Social Forum and the
Regional Social Forums’ taking place since 2001 the first WSF in
Rio-de Janeiro. In the past when the authors have dealt with the
role of the NGOs, there of course, these points have been
sharply focussed.
The authors make another very
pertinent aspect of these joint struggles by different groups.
They pose the question and answer too, ‘The basic quest that has
not been resolved or is constantly posed is, if there is such
general opposition, why as not globalism been overthrown? The
answer is two-fold: more groups have been thrown back onto
limited reasons and thus are largely engaged in defence
struggles; and, which various alternatives are being
elaborated, none have achieved general acceptance or they
embedded in sectoral or local settings.’(p.59).
All these explanations of the facts and
developments in anti-globalization struggles are vindicated by
Indian experience also where the majority of the participants in
anti-globalization struggle oppose corporate rule and they lack
any radical and objective vision of the alternative. The
worldwide anti-globalization struggle remain confined only with
the currently raised slogan ‘Another World is Possible’. The
slogan is anti-capitalist, but amorphous too. They have no
concrete vision what that ‘Alternate” would be.
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