Immanuel Wallerstein visits with NIGD Peru

Teivo Teivainen, NIGD

Immanuel Wallerstein, one of the world's most important social scientists since the 1970s, visited Peru during 12-18 May 2004. His visit was mainly organized by the Program on Democracy and Global Transformation of the San Marcos University, of which he is a council member. Other organizers were NIGD, Desco and Oxfam. The Program on Democracy and Global Transformation itself is one of the main projects of NIGD-Lima.

Wallerstein gave various talks and participated in academic and political events, especially in activities related to the construction of the Social Forum process in Peru. He was also awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by San Marcos, the oldest functioning university in the Americas and gave a talk on the occasion : "Guerra en Irak y Declive de los Estados Unidos".

In his talks, Wallerstein analyzed various issues, including the decline of the United States, war in Iraq, challenges of the universities, antisystemic movements, the World Social Forum and the transition from the current capitalist world-system toward something different.

All his talks took place in overwhelmingly full lecture halls, and he was interviewed by various media. There was a contrast between the more formal activities, where he was sitting next to the President of the Supreme Court and the President of the Constitutional Tribunal of Peru, and the more informal activities where he was sharing a panel with Nancy Obregón, leader of the militant coca growers who had just finished their "march of sacrifice" from the Amazon jungle, over the Andes, to Lima, as well as with other leaders of popular movements.