HAVANA, Cuba, May 1 (acn) Parallel to the huge march stage by hundreds of thousands of Havana citizens along with thousands of friends of Cuba from 70 countries of the world, all cities throughout the island experienced huge demonstrations marking May Day, where the people expressed their full support of the Socialist Revolution and their leaders.
Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura presided over celebrations in eastern Santiago de Cuba city, where the Antonio Maceo Revolution Square was filled with 350, 000 people from all walks of life, who stage a march headed by representatives of 19 labor unions.
The General Secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation in the eastern province, Rosa Lidia Torres, underscored the support given by the labor organization to the Cuban Revolution. She said that the workers movement in Santiago makes efforts to advance the local economic sector, particularly by boosting food production and replacing imports, as well as prioritizing efficiency in all economic areas.
At the end of the huge march the First Vice President underscore the optimism and commitment expressed by the people in Santiago during the demonstration.
In Matanzas province for instance, Cubans and members of France´s General Workers Confederation jointly participated in a march to mark May Day.
While in France all workers guilds join to demand the end of layoffs, which have affected some 500, 000 workers, in Cuba the people celebrate for their goals and boost initiatives to increase production efficiency, said Jean Bernard, a member of the Paris-based Mine and Energy Federation who have come to Matanzas city 15 times to take part in May Day celebrations.
Some 300 citizens in Matanzas participated in the demonstration in the central province, nearly 90, 000 of them stage a march in the city, which was presided over by Vice-president of the Cuban Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas, along other government and Communist Party officials.
In western Pinar del Rio province, workers welcomed May Day with predictions for a successful tobacco-leaf harvest, along with the good performance of the largest sugar mill in the territory. Their achievements in the economic and social sectors, despite the devastating passage of recent hurricanes on that province, were the encouraging reasons for Pinar del Rio workers to celebrate International workers Day.
Similar demonstrations and rallies took place throughout the country, where the Cuban people marked the 70th anniversary of the Cuban Workers Confederation and the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
In all plazas, participants voiced and expressed with their banners and enthusiasm their full support of the Socialist system, the social project they chose and continue to develop.
