Reprinted from the Fall issue of "As the South Goes. . ."

More than 900 people gathered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico on October 13-15, 2006. The first-ever Border Social Forum took place on the Mexico-US border with the backdrop of millions of migrants mobilizing in the US for full rights. This same border is where President Bush has placed over 6,000 National Guard military troops.

The Border Social Forum, organized and coordinated by the Southwest Workers Union in San Antonio, Tx. With over 50 sponsoring organizations, initiated a successful march of over 1,500 people to demand the end of construction and expansion of the "Wall of Death" and to confront the destructive effects of NAFTA on working people.

The goals of the Border Social Forum included: delegations participating from all of the border states; the integration of the social movements in the global south and north; internationalize the struggles at the US-Mexico border regions; to pull together an analysis of the present situation on the US-Mexico border (including Latin America and Caribbean); to produce a set of agreements that will pull together a border plan of action and solutions to the problems faced; to take action against the "Wall of Death" and get the military out of the border; and to integrate a border plan of action into the World Social Forum in Kenya and the US Social Forum in Atlanta, 2007.

Workshops and plenaries included discussion on topics like environmental justice, labor and work, Brown/Black alliance building, joint struggles with people affected by Katrina, food sovereignty, the murders of young working women happening in the Juarez area, youth organizing, cultural work, and many other relevant issues. From the Final Declaration: "We are part of the formidable force of struggle and hope that came about throughout the world with the initial World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2001. The World Social Forum is part of a social movement against the neoliberal agenda, the modern form of colonialism and imperialism. We are citizens of the planet and as such we are the bearers of a set of economic, social, political, cultural and environmental rights"

Project South is proud to be a sponsoring organization of the Border Social Forum and sent a lively delegation to experience the thinking, actions and momentum of this exciting gathering.

The Final Declaration is available at http://www.forosocialfronterizo.com.

"As the South Goes. . ." is the publication of Project South, www.projectsouth.org.