This May Day- some bad news, some good

By SJ Otto

This is a rather bleak May Day, May 1, the international workers’ day. Most years I either attend a May Day celebration or, as in a few years past, I have organized events for this holiday. This year my wife has had health problems and I simply have not had the time to organize anything. Also there has been nothing organized by anyone else. So I have nothing planned today.

This holiday is for just about any faction of the left, except for most (but not all) liberals. Internationally rallies have been planned all over the earth. In one of the day’s major ironies, Juan Guido, the phony would be president and virtual US puppet has declared his protests against the government, this May 1, a major May Day holiday. He is probably the most right-wing political figure to ever invoke May Day for his actions.

On the other had we can celebrate that socialist leader President Nicolás Maduro has thwarted right-wing efforts to oust him. He is still in power and he has overcome both Guaidó and the Donald Trump Administration’s best efforts to bring him down. Trump and his people are out to destroy socialism in Latin America and every left leaning activist in the world can take pride on Trump’s failure.

Last year we had a pot luck dinner and a movie.

We can still celebrate the importance of this day.

For a brief history of this day we have:

From the Brazilian Newsletter,\; A Nova Democracia:[1]

Adaptation of text excerpts from the Operative League published in AND nº 139 (May 2016)

1º de Maio held by the Workers' League in Belo Horizonte (MG), 2018

133 years ago, thousands of workers, mostly immigrants, took to the streets of Chicago in the United States, unfurling the claim of an eight-hour work day in protest against the overexploitation and oppression they were subjected to. They fought the forces of repression and several shed their blood in the combative struggles for the labor claim and the liberation of the class. On May 1, 1886, the trade union organizations agreed that the workers should impose the eight-hour day and close the doors of any factory that did not join. The eight-hour demand would turn, from an economic claim of the workers against their immediate bosses, into a political claim from one class against another. 

The leaflet that circulated in Chicago in 1885 already called for:

"A day of rebellion, not a day of rest! One day not ordered by the arrogant mouthpieces of the institutions that have handcuffed the workers! A day when the worker makes his own laws and has the power to execute them! All without the consent or approval of those who oppress and rule. One day, with tremendous strength, the united army of workers will mobilize against those who today dominate the destiny of the peoples of all nations. A day of protest against oppression and tyranny, against ignorance and wars of all kinds. One day to start enjoying eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours for whatever we please. "

For the rest (in Spanish) click here.

Here are scenes from last year’s May Day celebration.

---

[1] This is a Marxist publication but their history of May Day is pretty much accurate.