Yesterday's demonstration against the WTO summit in Doha was one of the biggest yet in Geneva, gathering 8 to 10,000 people (in a city of only 300,000), bringing together an enthusiastic mix of youth, union people, peasants, and the "people of the left" in general.
The anticapitalist bloc concentrated some of its efforts on a " Poster Party ". During the week preceding the demo, a kind of mini-convergence center was set up, with videos and assemblies every night and a non-stop workshop for do-it yourself political expression. About 200 huge posters were painted, drawn and written by different people, generating more political participation and creativity than several years of the standard activist reunions. Really a super experience ! In parallel, other mysterious persons were massively attacking commercial advertising in the city, subverting them, covering them with other posters, or even dismantling the billboards.
During the demo, this fine collection of popular art was exposed along the route of the demo (See photo) and in particular on the exterior of the banks of the financial district, with assorted other inscriptions, bottles of paint for the upper stories, etc. Special attention was reserved for the United Bandits of Switzerland and the (Dis)Credit Suisse, whose latest coup was to intentionally bankrupt Swissair (thereby destroying 30,000 jobs and making 200 million in ONE day on the stock market).
A stop had been planned at the CitiBank (world's largest and most gruesome bank, notably into narco-finance, hiding money for various dictators, financing petrol devastation on indigenous lands such as those of the Uwa's, etc., etc. ), but the riot police discouraged that little outing. Uncle Sam is sacred ! A bit further along, a multinational and some five star hotels suffered some though. Well, they can't be everywhere, can they ?
It all ended quite calmly at the WTO with just a few rather symbolic molotov cocktails, but after such a strong and spirited demo, it would be VERY surprising if WTO came home to Geneva very soon!
El viejo