International solidarity with other countries was the theme of this year's May Day celebration. Progressive people in
"One thing Americans can do is to reach out to other countries in International solidarity," Said Janice Bradley, one of the speakers at Friday's event.
She spoke about her trip to
Bradley pointed out that May Day is celebrated almost everywhere in the world except in the
He said the country has the usual problems with poverty, neo liberalist policies that have messed up almost all the countries in
In 2009 there was a coup d'état and the elected president Manuel Zelaya was forced to leave. The coup was condemned by The United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union.
"The
He added that they had a sham election after that and the
He said that 80 percent of the people in that country live in poverty. He said that 80 percent is also the number on how many women get rapped when they try to leave for the
Another issued he brought up was land seizures. He said that the people there defend the land because it is their lively hood.
"They don't work in Factories,"
Land seizures include people who want lumber, mining and those who want to build dams. Anders told us about some people who blockaded a road to keep out land owners who wanted to build a big hydro-electric dam.
"I support that party when I can," he added. He was wearing a shirt that had their logo on it.
Bradley spoke about her trip to
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She explained that the small country had few resources after the revolution so they focused on health care.
"They came out with a campaign for education," she said.
She was wearing a Pastors for Peace shirt with
"I still don't wear it everywhere because it has
She admitted that the government there had a lot of problems and that not all their policies were up to date and working.
"The things they have for the tourists are better than what the common people get," she said. "But they do need the (tourist's) money."
Another policy she talked about were some restaurants that the government allowed local people to set up.
"They allow better facilities for those who get money from relatives in
She said they are also trying to fix all their policies on LGBT (gay rights). It has been known for a long time that the Fidel Castro Regime has treated gay people harshly.
"They are trying to fix that," Bradley said.
She also talked about the literacy campaign that government started after the revolution. She also said the government spends a lot of money to promote art.
"It was everywhere," she said.
That included both visual arts and music.
The crowd for this event was enthusiastic. They also had a pot luck dinner that went well. For
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