In a city that has been shadowed by the vicious political rule of extreme right-wing Cuban exiles and other ultra-conservative forces, a beacon of light peaked through on the streets of Miami when the chief executive of the bourgeois state came to visit.
While the first leg of George Bush’s trip started with a $25,000 a plate fundraiser at the bayside home of developer
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Around 1,000 protesters gathered at Miami Dade Community College’s Kendall Campus on April 28 where Bush was scheduled to give the commencement speech to the class of 2007. The protest brought out an eclectic mix of political views, ranging from liberals demanding impeachment, to young students wearing homemade t-shirts that read “Squash Capitalism.” Less than 10 counter-protesters came to support Bush’s visit.
The crowd vigorously opposed the war on Iraq. Joe Slama, whose daughter walked out of her own graduation and joined the demonstration outside in full cap and gown, expressed the sentiments of the protesters when he told PSLweb.org that “If war is the answer, we are asking the wrong questions.”
St. Pete for Peace, a large anti-war organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, organized several vans full of its members willing to make the long trip down to Kendall to participate in the protest.
Diverse crowd, demands
South Florida is home to a population that has long suffered from a wide range of oppressive policies of the state, and the diversity in the demands of the protesters reflected the plight of many of these communities.
In the wake of the dramatic landing last month of more than 100 Haitian refugees on a nearby beach, members of the Haitian organization Veye Yo where out to fight against the U.S. government’s racist refusal to grant the Haitians temporary protective status.
The progressive Cuban community and the Bolivarian Circle of Miami raised demands to free the Cuban Five and for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles. Bush recently freed Posada, who then came to Miami thanks to Bush’s continued support of terrorism.
Students from local high schools and various universities came in large numbers, promoting various local struggles that have recently brought a greater cohesion and closer collaboration among the youth in Miami and surrounding areas.
Muhammad Malik, president of ANSWER-Florida International University, told PSLweb.org that “Although Miami tends to have a conservative political environment; this protest reflects a change in course for the better.”
The specific social and economic conditions that exist in Miami lend the city a distinctive revolutionary potential. Malik said, “In Miami, you don’t only hear ‘Stop the War’, you also hear ‘Detenga la Guerra’ and ‘Suspan fe Leguerre.’”
