March 14, 2002
Representatives of 260 non-governmental organizations from around the world gathered here Thursday to discuss ways of eradicating poverty and spurring economic growth.
The meeting is a prelude to a UN-sponsored economic summit, which later this month will bring together 60 heads of state and government, including US President George W. Bush.
As many as 7,000 delegates are taking part in this three-day forum, which will focus on ways to finance sustainable and equitable development that many activists here believe is a human right. The forum was organized by a number Mexican organizations under the presidency of Laura Frade.
The NGOs have been invited to take part in round table discussions and other activities of the UN summit, which will culminate on March 18 with a meeting of heads of state and government, including Bush.
For the first time, representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will take part in the meeting.
They will present their own proposals on fighting poverty and have already expressed many objections to a final statement named the 'Monterrey Consensus,' which they say is too vague.
The stated goal of the summit is to try to reduce the number of people living in poverty -- now estimated at 1.2 billion -- by half by 2015.
The NGOs will present their ideas on mobilizing national resources, trade and foreign investment, Sonia del Valle, a leader of a Mexican NGO, told AFP.
These critics of globalization also want the IMF and the World Bank to democratize their decision-making process by introducing voting by each member-state rather than by those with the largest stake in the financial institutions.
The NGOs also said they will organize demonstrations throughout their forum as well as during the summit.
These protesters are likely to include supporters of the Zapatista indigenous movement that is fighting for the rights of native Mexicans in the southern state of Chiapas as well as feminists in mini-skirts unhappy with a ban of these garment introduced by authorities of Nuevo Leon state, of which Monterrey is the capital.
A total of 7,000 security personnel were being mobilized here to ensure public order.
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