May Day 2011: Millions of workers fight austerity, repression
By
John Catalinotto
Published May 15, 2011 9:07 AM
From Manila to Milwaukee, from Kolkata to Cairo and Cape Town, from Seoul to
Santiago de Chile and from Lisbon to London, millions of workers marched and
rallied for May Day 2011, to demand an end to austerity and the bosses’
attack on workers’ rights, and in some cases, for an end to a repressive
regime. In Havana and other Cuban cities the massive marches supported the
embattled government that has been withstanding U.S. imperialist pressure for
more than 50 years.
One of the largest and most militant of the anti-government protests took place
in Taksim Square, Istanbul, where more than 200,000 Turkish workers, called by
four trade union confederations, assembled. From 1977, when regime-backed
fascists murdered 33 demonstrators, until last year, the square had been banned
to demonstrators. This year’s march was even larger than last
year’s in this city of 15 million people.
Red flags waved across the now-famous-worldwide Tahrir Square, as thousands of
Egyptian workers celebrated May Day in Cairo. Holding up Egyptian, Libyan,
Syrian, Palestinian and Communist Party flags, the marchers chanted for
“social justice.” (Workers World, May 12)
Pro-communist demonstrators in Moscow got their inspiration from the Egyptian
revolution as they chanted: “Whether Cairo or Moscow, only through
fighting will you obtain rights!” (AFP, May 2) The pro-capitalist regime
organized its own May Day actions, attempting to build on traditions
established during the existence of the USSR, but eliminating the socialist
content.
In south Korea, the rightist administration that won the election three years
ago has both threatened the neighboring Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
with military action — in coordination with the Pentagon — and has
attacked the working class at home. In Seoul at least 50,000 workers gathered
and chanted slogans demanding higher pay and better job security, and attacking
the regime.
Protesters in Indonesia, brought out by 60 labor unions, marched in the
thousands and were confronted by some 10,000 cops. They shouted slogans such
as, “The country is rich but the people are poor!” (AFP, May 2)
In the Philippines, more than 3,000 workers protested in a Manila square,
demanding higher wages. They burned an effigy of Philippine President Benigno
Aquino III, shown grinning in a luxury car.
In the United States, a major march of 100,000 people in Milwaukee and other
marches and rallies of thousands in cities across the country showed that
International Workers’ Day — revived by the massive action of
immigrant workers in 2006 — is very much alive. Not only that, there was
evidence of a growing solidarity between immigrant workers and those in the
traditional labor unions. (See WW, May 12)
European workers fight ‘austerity’
Workers throughout the European imperialist countries — industrialized,
monopolizing technology, with financial investments worldwide and allied
militarily with U.S. imperialism through NATO — have seen their rights
and living standards diminish steadily over the last two decades. During the
last few years, the bosses’ attacks have focused on cutting social
benefits and laying off or cutting benefits for public service workers.
The bosses’ pretext for the cuts is budget deficits — as it is also
in the U.S. — and in Europe the workers hardest hit have been those in
the less stable economies on Europe’s periphery: Greece, Portugal,
Ireland and Iceland. But in Italy and Britain, and even in France, Germany and
Austria, workers have been under attack.
On May Day, more than 400,000 workers marched in Germany; 100,000 in Vienna,
Austria; and there were 200 separate marches across France.
While in most countries the May Day actions followed a traditional script, in
some the “traditional” May Day was quickly followed up by direct
worker actions.
In Greece, some 15,000 workers hit the streets across the country on May Day to
rally against austerity measures. And Greek unions have called for a general
strike on May 11 to oppose the measures. It is the latest of a series of a
dozen general and near-general strikes over the last 17 months.
In Portugal, another country where the ruling class and their European bankers
are using the economic crisis to cut wages and benefits and lay off workers
— all imposed under a European Union and International Monetary Fund
bailout plan — tens of thousands rallied on May Day itself. Four days
later, on May 5, some 250,000 public service workers held a one-day general
strike. Another mass protest is planned for May 19 in Lisbon, the capital, and
Porto, the second largest city.
Pro-government rallies in Cuba
Hundreds of thousands of workers in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and other cities
rallied and marched not in opposition to the government but to show support for
the country’s attempt to establish a socialist system and maintain Cuban
independence only 90 miles from the country that is the center of world
imperialism. President Raúl Castro was among those at Revolution Square in
Santiago de Cuba, considered the cradle of the Cuban revolution.
A massive march and rally in Caracas, Venezuela, supported the government of
President Hugo Chávez, which had just put through an increase in the
minimum wage. Chávez promised the marchers plans to provide full
employment in 2012.
In other Latin American capitals, anti-regime protests took place, including
one of more than 50,000 people in Guatemala City, protesting the high cost of
living and calling for an end to child labor, and in Santiago, Chile, where
30,000 people filled the main boulevard of the capital, calling for more worker
rights and criticizing the rightist policies of the Sebastián Piñera
government. In Bogotá, Colombia, the U.S.-backed, rightist regime
brutalized the protesting workers.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
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