BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, May 1 — Over 60,000 people participated in the May Day march, commemorating the day of the International working class. There were courageous youth who hissed and ridiculed harassing cops and politicians claiming to be the saviors of the working class. There were trade union misleaders demanding more crumbs from the capitalist system, and groups of peasants and indigenous communities, displaced by violence, denouncing state and paramilitary crimes.
There were relatives of the disappeared demanding justice, workers in low-paying jobs denouncing their abusive bosses, groups of teachers and students rejecting the privatization of public education. Doctors and nurses denounced the enormous theft of healthcare resources. Opportunists of every shade and color sabotaged the event with loud whistles and without any slogans, dancing as if in a carnival.
Members of PLP began the distribution of more than 3,000 revolutionary fliers and the selling of CHALLENGE very early. Comrades and friends, women and men, arrived in small groups to avoid police harassment. We organized ourselves behind our signs and proudly raised the red flag with the distinctive symbols of our Party.
We all, workers and students, enthusiastically chanted:
“Changing presidents, kings or dictators do not free us from the yoke!”
“Democracy is a capitalist farce, organize communist revolution”
“Reject every capitalist option, Always lead with communism!”
“One working class, one communist world, and one Progressive Labor Party!”
“Against capitalist usury, a communist worker state!”
“Take advantage of capitalist wars to organize communist revolution!”
Several groups participating in the march chanted along and joined our contingent, which grew to almost a hundred strong. A group of workers insisted on sharing their lunch with us to express support for the revolutionary politics of PLP.
During the march, we advanced as far as Plaza Bolivar, where we sang the Internationale, but soon after, as is often the case, we had to face police brutality in the form of tear gas, stunt explosions and water cannons.
We made many contacts with the workers and students we had met. We plan to take advantage of this capitalist crisis to politicize workers’ struggles and direct them towards an international communist revolution.