Despite the heat of the day, the mobilisation attracted a large number of columns. In the middle of the course, a short but strong rain refreshed the demonstrators.

As in every Social Forum march, the participation was very varied. A large number of unions and organisations defending natural resources attended.

Additionally, there were feminist organisations and LGBT groups. Human Rights bodies and peasant movements also turned out, among so many others.

The lines were animated principally by Brazilian demonstrators. However, activists from different parts of Latin America were also present, waving their posters and flags.

The manifestation showed the heterogenity of a broad and plural event, which has as the common point the rejection of capitalist neoliberal recipes and policies.

The march ran the width of Avenida Borges de Medeiros to the Pôr do Sol amphitheatre, next to the Guaíba river, which surrounds Porto Alegre.

Two years ago this same city received the celebrations for 10 years of the World Social Forum. It is fitting to remember that this encounter of social organisations was born as a response to the Davos Economic Forum and the neoliberal receipts that were pushed forward as a result.

The Themed Social Forum in Port Alegre has been created as a preparatory stage for civil society for participation in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio + 20, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June. (PÚLSAR)