Lively May Day in Lisbon
By Margarita Windisch
LISBON — Around 30,000 enthusiastic people marched on a gloriously sunny May 1 to show their strength as workers, activists and dedicated union members.
Contingents of unions, political parties and solidarity groups raised a range of demands encompassing greater social services, tolerance and rights for migrants and a free East Timor.
The AST (Socialist Association of East Timor) was active on the day with an awareness and petition campaign calling for the release of the six Timorese who have been in the Austrian embassy in Jakarta for the last seven months. The Indonesian government has consistently refused to negotiate their free passage to Portugal.
Very impressive and encouraging was the vibrancy of the PSR (Party of Revolutionary Socialism) contingent, who were bold, loud and fun. The PSR's demands went beyond the conventional and took up the women's issues, Expo '98 and a challenge to the traditional call of the Portuguese trade union peak body for a 40-hour working week with "Why not 35?!".
Joana Sales, a young PSR activist, explained the contradiction of the Portuguese government's willingness to waste millions of dollars on Expo '98 in Lisbon, while there are a housing shortage, a lack of hospital funds and wages 20% below the European average.
The PSR also campaigns for free abortion and contraception on demand, a contentious issue in a very Catholic country. It was empowering to be part of this huge march, leaving me inspired and hoping for a similarly exiting experience in the future on a May Day in Melbourne.