Complexity and Social Movements: Multitudes at the Edge of Chaos ...

112 Beyond resistance to global nexus
resonated with similar critiques voiced by movements and peoples struggling
to construct alternative networks to those they were peripheral to, or
‘switched off’ from in the ‘network society’ (Castells 1996). These subaltern
networks, parallel patterns of resistance rooted in specific social and economic
conditions occurred in many locations, and in many instances they
derived from similar, and seemingly incongruous interactions between
diverse constituencies (Notes from Nowhere 2003). In Mexico, it was
urban Marxists and Maoist cadre in dialogue with the rural indigenous
population which led to a peculiarly hybrid expression of anti-capitalism.
In the United Kingdom, it was a curious mixture of urban sub-culture, environmental
sensibility and the criminalisation of dissent that facilitated the
emergence of Reclaim The Streets as another antagonistic expression of this
movement (Chesters 1999). An eclectic fusion of politics, party and protest
based in London and utilising street blockades, direct action and the reclamation
of urban space for political and pleasurable ends, it too, soon
became a global phenomenon (Jordan 1998).
Linking and co-ordinating such diverse expressions of resistance was the
explicit aim of the process originated by the Zapatista Encuentro and in
1997, the Second Intercontinental Encuentro for Humanity and Against
Neoliberalism took place in a number of locations in Spain, including
Madrid and Barcelona. A significant outcome of the second encuentro was
the proposal for a further meeting to consolidate the emerging network and
to derive a means of co-ordinating action between its constituent parts, be
they movements, groups or individuals. In February 1998, the founding
conference of PGA took place in Geneva. It was attended by more than 300
delegates from approximately 71 countries, many of whom were attracted
by the 5 PGA hallmarks drafted and circulated by Professor
Nanjundaswamy leader of the Karnataka State Farmers’ Association, one
of the largest farmers’ movements in India, and a key advocate for PGA.
The hallmarks originally expressed ‘a very clear rejection of the WTO and
other trade liberalisation agreements’, but this was amended at the Third
International Conference of PGA in Cochabamba, Bolivia to reflect the
broader concerns of the PGA network. They now read as follows:
1 A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all
trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive
globalisation.
2 We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination
including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism
of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
3 A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can
have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in
which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.
4 A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social
movements’ struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximise