The constant gardener
Peoples' Global Action (PGA)
Alex Khasnabish,
McMaster University
Peoples' Global Action (PGA) is an international organizing and communication network officially born during a meeting in Geneva in 1998, attended by over 300 activists from seventy-one countries. The inspiration for PGA emerged from the Zapatista-initiated Intercontinental Encuentros for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism, and specially from the second Intercontinental Encuentro held in Spain in August 1997.
PGA is directed according to five central "hallmarks" or tenets. These are: (1) "a very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism, and feudalism"; (2) a rejection of all forms of domination and discrimination; (3) a confrontational attitude toward the agents and forces of neo-liberal capitalism; (4) "a call to direct action and civil disobedience" and support for the struggles of social movements "which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism"; (5) and "an organizational philosophy based on decentralization and autonomy" (www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/).
PGA has no head office, no central funds, no membership, and no representatives. Specific organizations or individuals in each region serve as informational/contact hubs and an international secretariat (currently the Canadian Union of Postal Workers) serves as a general contact point. PGA thus relies heavily both on regional autonomous organizing by its affiliated groups and the use of information technologies such as the Internet and e-mail to disseminate information, facilitate communication, and coordinate action. Since its formation, PGA has coordinated numerous Global Action Days, such as those which disrupted the 3rd World Trade Organization Summit in Seattle on 30 November 1999, and has facilitated numerous other actions ranging from conferences to political action caravans.
Suggested Readings:
de Marcellus, Olivier. 2001. Peoples' Global Action: Dreaming up an old ghost. In
Auroras of the Zapatistas: Local and global struggles of the Fourth World War.
ed. Midnight Notes,
105-17. Brooklyn:
Autonomedia.
de Marcellus, Olivier. 2003. Peoples' Global Action: The grassroots go global. In
We are everywhere: The irresistible rise of global anti-capitalism.
ed. Notes From Nowhere,
96-101. New York:
Verso.
Peoples' Global Action website.
www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp (accessed 16 December 2004).