BELEM (Brazil), Feb 1: The world’s biggest gathering of leftist activists ended on Sunday, after six days of discussions and protests that participants said showed there was an alternative to a crumbling global capitalist system.

The World Social Forum brought about 100,000 activists to the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem ranging from communists railing against US “imperialism” to environmentalists and more moderate socialists.

Timed to coincide with the Davos meeting of business leaders in Switzerland, this year’s Forum attracted a record number of government leaders keen to burnish their leftist credentials in the wake of the global financial crisis.—Reuters