PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) – Two days before elections to choose a new Iraqi government, activists at the leftist World Social Forum railed Friday against the U.S.-led occupation and predicted the balloting wouldn’t bring democracy.

The World Social Forum has drawn tens of thousands of people who are promoting hundreds of causes, ranging from opposition to genetically modified crops to free distribution of land to poor farmers and protecting the rights of indigenous populations.

But a recurrent theme during this and previous gathering has been oppositon to U.S. policy.

Protesters burned an effigy of President Bush and chanted slogans against a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, a 34-nation zone that would join North and South America in the world’s largest economic bloc.

Activists criticized the spread of capitalism, and said Bush is forcing other nations to accept free trade agreements that will only benefit multinational corporations and the wealthy elite in developing countries.

Many on Friday downplayed the significance of the Iraq balloting and said that U.S. soldiers will remain in Iraq.

“The U.S. will stay there to dominate the Middle East,” Brazilian artist Jairo Silva said before an anti-Bush march on the third day of the social forum, held to protest the World Economic Forum under way in Davos, Switzerland.

Thai human rights campaigner Pornpen Khongkachonkiet said she doubted the Iraq elections will result in anything close to democracy. “They should have democracy developed locally,” she said. “This just isn’t how an election should be.”

AP-ES-01-28-05 2143EST

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