Foro de SP meets in Brasilia at the end of the month driven by Lula

The group of leftist parties and organizations known as the Foro de São Paulo (FST) will meet in Brasilia between June 29th and July 2nd to discuss, among other topics, the integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries with governments leftists and progressives.

The holding of the meeting in Brazil was motivated by the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) who, since the beginning of the new government, has been trying to strengthen relations with the nations of the continent, including the Venezuelan dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.

“The XXVI Meeting of the Forum will take place in the midst of a complex scenario, of victories and also of much struggle of the peoples of our America”, says the presentation of the meeting. The group goes further, and says that there is a “need to build the integration of our countries, protect our nature, peoples and sovereignty, in addition to fighting against the effects of neoliberalism in our region”, calling for what it calls “progressive forces, popular and leftist groups” to participate in the meeting.

The four-day program will feature discussions ranging from integration policies for left-wing countries and governments to analysis and debates on the use of social networks and “platforms of struggle for the trade union and popular movement”, as explained on the website of the meeting without detail what should be discussed. There will be two panels focused on this theme over the course of a whole day.

In parallel to the discussions on social networks and “platforms of struggle”, the Forum will have meetings with women and young people, also without detailing what should be discussed.

There is also a panel dedicated specifically to the “Brazilian situation and government policies”, which should have an analysis of the national political scene and Lula’s election itself with the return of the PT to power. The party will even have a fraternization party as part of the Forum’s official program on the penultimate day.

In this edition, the FST will honor Lula’s former international advisor, Marco Aurélio Garcia, one of the group’s founders, who died in 2017.

Forum will discuss left in USA and Europe

In addition to discussing the current situation of leftist parties and governments in Latin America, the main focus of the group, the São Paulo Forum meeting will feature two panels on the “European Left Party”, which brings together 26 parties on the continent, and “Socialists Democrats of America”, this second specific on the political landscape of the United States.

Another panel will discuss the bicentennial of the so-called Monroe Doctrine, created in 1823 by US President James Monroe. The doctrine established European non-interference in the American continent at the time when the colonies were going through the process of independence.

During last year’s presidential election, Lula said that the PT articulated the creation of the Forum, in 1990, to carry out a kind of “moderation” of the continent’s leftist parties and to reach power without the use of violence. “It was just a matter of organizing the people a little and we would arrive”, said the then candidate at an event in São Paulo during the campaign.

Among the main members of the Foro de São Paulo, in addition to the PT itself, are the Communist Party of Cuba, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the Socialist Party of Chile. The group also organizes events such as the World Day against Imperialism and the Continental Day for Democracy and against Neoliberalism.