Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruz and Secretary General of the Confederation of Cuban Workers Salvador Valdes Mesa presided over the principal event and parade celebrating May Day in Plaza de la Revolución José Martí in Havana yesterday. About one million marchers took part in the activities.
Alongside Raúl were Communist Party and state leaders, leaders of popular organizations, such as labor union representatives from countries invited to the festivities, and the diplomatic corps. Thousands of teachers, doctors, and construction workers took part in the march, brandishing Cuban flags, colorful banners, marched de maestros, and signs that read “¡Viva Cuba Libre!,” “ ¡Viva el Primero de Mayo!,” and “¡Marchamos por la Patria y el futuro!” [We march for the homeland and the future.] Others carried posters demanding freedom for the Cuban Five “¡Libertad para los Cinco héroes cubanos prisioneros en EEUU!” [The Cuban Five are five Cuban men detained in the U.S., serving four life sentences and 75 years collectively, accused by the U.S. government of espionage conspiracy and other related charges.] And yet others protested the U.S. embargo—“¡Abajo el bloqueo genocida!” [Down with the genocidal embargo]. George Mavrikos, general secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), was one of the people who spoke at the May Day gathering against the economic, financial, and commercial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba.
Among participants in the people’s rally who stood out for their vibrancy and joyful participation was a group of 40,000 students from all educational levels, including 10,000 from the University of Computer Science and from the Union of Young Communists (UJC). There were also more than 2,000 friends of Cuba present, representing 70 countries and 200 workers’ organizations.
In contrast to other countries celebrations for International Workers Day on the island renews its workers’ commitment to increase production and efficiency in the midst of the economic crisis. In other parts of the world, the commemoration is an opportune moment for protest demonstrations and to demand an end to unemployment and guarantees of better working conditions.
For full article (in Spanish), see http://www.granma.cu/espanol/2009/mayo/vier1/actoplaza.html
Photograph from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/may/01/cuba-may-day-celebration-photos?picture=346777760
For more photos of the 2009 May Day activity, see http://fotos.ain.cu/main.php?g2_itemId=92279
