In Venezuela on May Day members of the IMT marched with the workers of the occupied factories. In Mexico they put up a tent in the Zocalo with a large amount of Marxist material. They also intervened in Brazil, with the inauguration of the "Mario Pedrosa" Cultural Centre, in El Salvador, Bolivia and Argentina.
Lucha de Clases says – We are present! on the May Day March
See the photo gallery below! On the first of May, the members of the International Marxist Tendency marched alongside the workers of the occupied factories, nationalized and in struggle, such as Gotcha, National Industrial Hardware Products (INAF), Inveval, Cemex, the National Cement Factory (FNC), together with comrades from the Caracas Firefighters. At the same time, we handed out a leaflet in solidarity with the workers of MMC Automotriz, Macusa Vivex and against the sackings carried out by the bosses and the Ministry of Labour. In our flyer we also talked about the need to place the Guyana factories under workers' control and nationalize the major outsourcing enterprises of Puerto Ordaz, many of which are closed by their employers.
Workers of the occupied factories were marching for their just demand to nationalize their firms, as in the case of the workers of Inaf, who demanded that the pledge of comrade Chavez on the nationalization of the company in November last year should finally be carried out. The comrades of the textile factory Gotcha have been fighting for the nationalization of the company while continuing to produce under worker control. The comrades from Inveval were marching against the bureaucratic sabotage that currently has been carried out by some institutions against the workers and against the company.
The comrades from Cemex were marching against the sabotage which is currently is being carried out by the board of directors of the company, which is doing everything possible to divide the workers' struggle, creating a company union in the pockets of the Board. Today, the Cemex comrades are fighting to set up a works council in the company, including it as a clause of the current collective agreement being negotiated.
An important element was the participation of the Firefighters of the Capital District, who actively supported us in the sale of our newspaper Class Struggle and participated enthusiastically in the march. The comrade firefighters have expressed their willingness to participate in all the activities organized by the comrades grouped around the International Marxist Tendency in Venezuela.
The May Day march was a show of strength against the right wing and fascist elements who staged demonstrations in East Caracas on the first of May. The working class and the Left showed great enthusiasm for participation in the forthcoming primaries to elect parliamentary candidates of the PSUV, and have again shown their enthusiasm in the participation of all the revolutionary elements on May Day.
Another important element was the speeches of some of the labour leaders who spoke against the state bureaucracy and the need to break the power the bourgeoisie still has over the means of production.
From the paper of the Venezuelan Marxists Lucha de Clases
Brazil
In Brazil, unfortunately, the 1st of May has been marked in recent years by a downplaying of the class nature of this commemoration and its replacement by music concerts. This year there was a rally with 100,000 people in the ABC region, organized by the CUT, with the presence of Lula and Dilma. Supporters of Esquerda Marxista sold their newspaper (Luta de Classes) and distributed this text: O lugar do 1º de Maio no Movimento Operário. On the same day, in Sao Paulo, they also inaugurated the "Mario Pedrosa" Cultural Centre (see Vida Longa ao Centro Cultural Mario Pedrosa!).
From the Brazilian Marxists of Esquerda Marxista
El Salvador May Day – a big success for the Marxists!
In a magnificent intervention on the First of May the comrades of BPJ (the El Salvador section of the IMT) sold a total of more than 500 newspapers. Our contingent was about 80 comrades, who intervened energetically, calling for cooperation with the fighting fund. Several comrades sold all the papers given to them (50 newspapers each).
The atmosphere in the march was very combative. Selling newspapers was easy. La Prensa Grafica said that there were about ten thousand, but in reality there were a hundred thousand or a little more. It was an endless sea of people. It reminded us of the historic white marches when you never saw the end of the march and it took several hours before the end came in sight. This first of May was very similar.
We were standing in one place with other comrades for almost two hours and did not see the end of the march. Not all the people managed to get to the Civic Square. There were speeches at the end, and many people still kept coming. Then came a great storm and the people began to disperse because it rained quite hard.
It was a big success. The important thing is to get our ideas and political slogans to as many people as possible and that is fundamental. We can see that there is the beginning of a change of mood among the working class that is likely to increase gradually. The FMLN contingent was huge, like a sea of red and I think it was bigger than the trade union contingent that marched in front. This shows that the party has many reserves of support among the population and this will remain the case for a long time. We could also read many posters which questioned the President Funes, asking for real changes.
From the BPJ in El Salvador.
May Day in Mexico
On this May Day the Mexican working class joined the demonstrations of the proletariat worldwide. This festival was characterised by severe attacks, such as the closure of the big electricity company Luz y Fuerza del Centro and the attempt to eliminate the Mexican Electricians Union (SME). Its members have spent the last seven months fighting for the defence of their employment and their collective agreement. Faced with a difficult situation of crisis, with thousands of job losses which may temporarily inhibit (but not eliminate) the strike struggle and serious errors by the union leadership, which has wasted significant opportunities and valuable time in this struggle, now we see a hunger strike in the Zocalo. But the attacks do not stop there, as we have seen in several sectors of the working class: miners, government workers, education, etc. And now we have the new attempt to amend Federal Labour Act like to wipe out historic achievements of our class.
The mobilizations took place from early morning. The official labour unions, grouped in the Labour Congress (CT), filled the Zocalo – the celebrated central square in Mexico City. The Marxists of the IMT in Mexico, organized in the Marxist Militant Tendency, were present. We put up our tent in the Zocalo with a large amount of Marxist material of our organization and the Karl Marx Centre for Socialist Studies, the new Marxist publishing house in the Spanish language.
It was significant thaton this CT demonstration there was even more interest in the purchase of our paper that in other demonstrations in the past. This is one small symptom of the forces that are developing within the working class and that will inevitably find an expression even in the most right wing and bureaucratized “charro” trade unions in the future.
One feature of this march was the wide dispersion of the movement caused by union leaders, who convened the demonstrations at different points at different times and at the last moment. The main tendency of the class remains the drive for unity. This was reflected even in the fact that a few days earlier people were talking of the possibility that the CT and UNT might march together, something that would have meant an important step forward, but was thwarted by the divisions organized from above.
The workers are on alert against attacks. It is no coincidence that the document that sold best was the one on the Counter-reform of the Federal Labour Law. In addition, we sold several copies of the Manifesto of the IMT on the capitalist crisis, among other books, documents, and, above all, our newspaper Militante in its May issue (number 192). We participated in virtually all the workers’ demonstrations held in Mexico City. The morale of the Marxists of the IMT was very high and was reflected in the excellent turn-out of comrades.
The development of a revolutionary organization does not occur in a linear fashion. This is well known to any workers involved in building a tool of struggle. Unfortunately, a small handful of comrades decided to leave our organization and are still publishing their newspaper under the name of Militante, causing confusion in the ranks of the movement. Many workers and young people who know us from the work we do every day in the mass organizations of the working class and among the youth, questioned us about this fact, and we had to make a public clarification. When we were asked who had remained within the IMT, we clarified the issue, and they bought the copy of the newspaper. Many workers have known our organization for years; they also can see the work we continue to do within the labour movement and youth, and the ideas advanced by our international, from the writings of Ted Grant and Alan Woods.
We had a very successful intervention. The participation of comrades was not less than in past years and the sale of newspapers was even greater than in previous years, despite the dispersion caused the union leaders in the march. The enthusiasm and high morale of the Marxists of the IMT were plain for all to see. This is natural, as we have the genuine ideas of Marxism on our side, and we know how to link them to the mass movement of the working class and its mass organizations, which are now being shaken to the foundations. This will enable us to build a strong Marxist tendency within the worker’s movement.
From the Marxists of Militante in Mexico
May 1 in Bolivia
In the May 1 at Potosi in the march were present delegations from the union of the mining firm Manquiri, electricity and water workers, municipal building workers, highways, manufacturing, pensioners and teachers, apart from the presence of the FUL. Without doubt the most radical sector was the teachers, who have occupied the SEDUCA in Potosi demanding better conditions and pay increases of 12%. Their procession carried the images of Marx, Engels and Lenin, and it was the sector of the march where the most militant slogans were raised.
There were about 1500-2000 people. We distributed 300 copies of the flyer for May Day, we sold 28 newspapers as well as 163 books and pamphlets. Our comrades were divided between those who went on the march and those who organized the sale of political material in the central square where the march ended.
We had a big impact on the female domestic workers who are starting a union. The newspaper had an article that speaks specifically about domestic workers in the new labour code. We also had a special contact with manufacturing workers and leaders of the COD as a result of the problem of the Santa Monica textile mill where we're trying to organize a campaign of solidarity with the workers. Some comrades were interviewed by the media about the content of our newspaper.
From the Marxists of El Militante in Bolivia