[Marxism] May 31: PEOPLE'S ECONOMIC SUMMIT IN NEW YORK CITY

[Sam B <sam.b.ann.arbor@xxxxxxxxx>]

May 31: PEOPLE'S ECONOMIC SUMMIT IN NEW YORK CITY
Details:  <http://www.bailoutpeople.org/3upcoming.shtml>


The Bail Out the People Movement invites you to a: PEOPLE'S ECONOMIC
SUMMIT IN NEW YORK CITY

Another world is urgently necessary - but we must fight for it.
Sunday May 31--11 a.m. to 5:30pm

DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD PLAZA, 47th St. & 1st Ave. NYC

(in conjunction with the UN Summit on the World Economic Crisis, June
1-3 in NYC)

Two meetings on the world economic crisis are taking place in NYC in
less than a month.

One of the meetings is the June 1 - 3 UN General Assembly's
International Conference on the Global Economic and Financial Crisis.
On Sunday, May 31, the day before the UN meeting, the People's
Economic Summit will take place directly across the street from the UN
building, under tents in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. The theme of the
Peoples Economic Summit is "A NEW WORLD IS URGENTLY NECESSARY–BUT WE
MUST FIGHT FOR IT."

It remains to be seen whether these important meetings will get the
same kind of attention that the U.S. and world corporate media give to
a meeting of the G20--the Group of Twenty finance ministers and
central bank governors. This is because in different ways, these
meetings are a challenge to the domination of the world economy by the
economic system and governments of the G20, especially the U.S. and
the other longstanding imperialist powers that still comprise the
so-called G7 nations. World events have forced these imperialist
powers to incorporate the major developing countries into a broader
framework that is now the G20.

The UN conference on the economic crisis, which some are referring to
as the G192 Summit--for the 192 member nations of the UN--is, at its
most elementary level, a response to exclusionary character of the G20
meetings. On another level, the UN meeting is an attempt by some of
the more progressive governments to challenge both the hegemony of the
major imperialist powers over the world economy, as well as the
capitalist system.

After recently meeting in Cumaná in the Venezuelan state of Sucre,
representatives of several governments including Cuba, Venezuela,
Bolivia and Nicaragua issued the April 21 Declaration of Cumaná.
Wasting no time to get to its central point, the Cumaná statement
begins: "Capitalism is leading humanity and the planet to extinction.
What we are experiencing is a global economic crisis of a systemic and
structural nature, not another cyclic crisis."

The statement asserts: "It is necessary to develop and model an
alternative to the capitalist system. A system based on: solidarity
and complementarity, not competition; a system in harmony with our
mother earth and not plundering of human resources; a system of
cultural diversity and not cultural destruction and imposition of
cultural values and lifestyles alien to the realities of our
countries; a system of peace based on social justice and not on
imperialist policies and wars; in summary, a system that recovers the
human condition of our societies and peoples and does not reduce them
to mere consumers or merchandise."

In anticipation of the UN meeting, the statement affirms: "The
solutions to the global economic crisis and the definition of a new
international financial scheme should be adopted with the
participation of the 192 countries that will meet in the United
Nations Conference on the International Financial Crisis to be held on
June 1-3 to propose the creation of a new international economic
order."

Because of the unique nature of the June UN conference, a broad
coalition of forces is coming together to hold a People's Economic
Summit in conjunction with the UN General Assembly Conference on the
World Financial and Economic crisis. The goal of the one-day People's
Economic Summit is to bring together activists, organizers and leaders
from the various movements and struggles most impacted by the
devastating global crisis around the region, the country, and some
from around the world--the people who are losing their homes,
livelihoods, healthcare, education and futures. These are the voices
that must be heard by all the governments.

The biggest worldwide economic crisis since the 1930 has re-raised,
with even greater urgency, the need for people in the U.S. and people
everywhere to liberate themselves from the grasp of the capitalist
system, for the sake of self-defense and self-preservation.

One of the panels during the People's Economic Summit, entitled
"Another World is Urgently Necessary," will examine the roots of the
financial and economic crisis, as well as the case for alternatives to
capitalism and imperialism. Another panel, entitled "But We Must Fight
For It," will take up the critical discussion of building the mass
movement/s and formulating a program and strategy essential to the
task of bringing into being a serious mass struggle for jobs, an end
to foreclosures and evictions, and new rights for working and poor
people.

Along with these and other panels there will be workshops on
"Resisting Imperialist War and Occupation," including the central
importance of the Palestinian liberation struggle. A major session of
the People's Economic Summit will be dedicated to planning major
protest at the Next G20 Summit, which is being planned for NYC in late
September.

Representatives of progressive governments participating in the UN
conference are being invited to participate in the People's Economic
Summit.

The views of the governments that signed the Cumaná statement
represent the interests of the overwhelming population of the planet,
but it may not represent many of the 192 member governments of the UN.
Some governments want to limit the UN conference to a discussion of
merely reforming the world financial system. A few imperialist
super-powers are threatened by any challenge to their global
domination. It is not clear whether the U.S. government will attend
the UN economic crisis conference, or boycott it as they did the
recent UN conference on racism in Geneva.

The main importance of this UN conference is that it is a forum for
widening the political struggle against imperialist global hegemony.
Our hope is that the May 31 People's Economic Summit will amplify the
struggle inside the UN, strengthen it and make it relevant to the
struggle in the streets.

A People's Summit will also be held in Detroit, Michigan - June 14 to
17 to oppose the National Business Summit.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) Endorse: http://www.bailoutpeople.org/peoplessummitendorse.shtml

2) Spread the word - forward this message to friends, fellow
activists, community organizers, trade unionists, and student
organizations. Ask them to endorse and participate.

3) Donate to help with organizing expenses:
http://bailoutpeople.org/donate.shtml

4) Volunteer: http://www.bailoutpeople.org/g20-peoplessummitsvolorgcents.shtml

5) Become a local organizer:
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/g20-peoplessummitsvolorgcents.shtml

Bail Out the People Movement Solidarity Center 55 W. 17th St. #5C New
York, NY 10011 212.633.6646 www.BailOutPeople.org Email:
bailoutpeople.org/cmnt.shtml

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