The anti-Davos is underway.
An excerpt from the BBC story:
Thousands of political activists and anti-globalisation protesters have marched through Venezuela's capital at the start of the World Social Forum.
The annual event is seen as an ideological alternative to the World Economic Forum, attended by business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos.
Delegates in Venezuela are expected to discuss such issues as fair trade, debt forgiveness and indigenous rights.
The country's socialist President Hugo Chavez is attending the six-day forum.
Some 10,000 people from 54 countries joined an anti-war march through the streets of Caracas to mark the opening of this year's event.
Carrying flags and banners criticising US President George Bush, the protesters called for an end to war in Iraq and shouted slogans against US "imperialism".
Peace activist Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, addressed the crowds, saying the US needed to bring its troops home immediately.
Global outlook
Other speakers will include Argentine Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano and former French first lady Danielle Mitterand.