Whitehouse.gov (press release), DC - 2 hours ago

President Bush Honors Cinco de Mayo
Rose Garden


7:51 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome. Si ntese.
(Laughter.) Laura and I welcome you to the Rose Garden for what is
going to be a spectacular evening. We are so glad you are here.
Ambassador Garza, thank you for coming. Ambassador Sarukhan, thank you
for being here as well. I appreciate members of the United States
Senate for joining us, members of the House of Representatives for
joining us, members of my Cabinet, members of the Hispanic American
community.

I want to thank the Mariachi Campanas de America from San Antonio,
Texas for joining us here today. (Applause.) After dinner we are so
fortunate to have Shaila Durcal, who will be singing for us. Hold your
applause for Shaila until after she sings -- I will tell you, however,
that she has interrupted her honeymoon to come to the Rose Garden
tonight, for which we are very grateful.

Cinco de Mayo is a joyous celebration. It commemorates a joyful moment
in history of Mexico -- it's when Mexican soldiers defended their
independence against what appeared to be an elite and insurmountable
army from Europe. Nearly a century and a half later, Cinco de Mayo is
celebrated by Americans and Mexicans alike -- after all, it is a
symbol of determination against great odds and is a source of
inspiration for all who love freedom.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...080505-10.html

On May 5, 11:21 pm, Jose <pabl...***todito.com> wrote:
> Whitehouse.gov (press release), DC - 2 hours ago
>
> President Bush HonorsCincodeMayo
> Rose Garden
>
> 7:51 P.M. EDT
>
> THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome. Si ntese.
> (Laughter.) Laura and I welcome you to the Rose Garden for what is
> going to be a spectacular evening. We are so glad you are here.
> Ambassador Garza, thank you for coming. Ambassador Sarukhan, thank you
> for being here as well. I appreciate members of the United States
> Senate for joining us, members of the House of Representatives for
> joining us, members of my Cabinet, members of the Hispanic American
> community.
>
> I want to thank the Mariachi Campanas de America from San Antonio,
> Texas for joining us here today. (Applause.) After dinner we are so
> fortunate to have Shaila Durcal, who will be singing for us. Hold your
> applause for Shaila until after she sings -- I will tell you, however,
> that she has interrupted her honeymoon to come to the Rose Garden
> tonight, for which we are very grateful.
>
> CincodeMayois a joyous celebration. It commemorates a joyful moment
> in history of Mexico -- it's when Mexican soldiers defended their
> independence against what appeared to be an elite and insurmountable
> army from Europe. Nearly a century and a half later,CincodeMayois
> celebrated by Americans and Mexicans alike -- after all, it is a
> symbol of determination against great odds and is a source of
> inspiration for all who love freedom.
>
> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...080505-10.html

Latin America May Day round-up
Submitted by WW4 Report on Tue, 05/06/2008 - 01:55.

Unionists and other activists marked International Workers Day with
marches throughout Latin America on May 1 as rising food and fuel
costs cut into workers' standard of living. Demands included increases
in the minimum wage, an end to violence against unionists and
rejection of trade pacts with the US.

Some 15,000-20,000 Chileans marched in Santiago to demand an end to
neoliberal policies and a new Constitution to eliminate all remaining
traces of the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. After
the protest, which was organized by the Unified Workers Confederation
(CUT), anarchist youths dressed in black reportedly threw paint bombs
at a bank branch and then rocks and bottles. Police agents responded
with massive amounts of tear gas, forcing hundreds of bystanders to
flee. Authorities reported 96 arrests.

There were at least five different marches in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
mostly by leftist unions and parties; total participation was
reportedly in the hundreds. Participation was also low in Uruguay.

Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo headed celebrations in
Asunción, telling some 3,000 unionists that his government would be
"with the poor, the indigenous, the unionists, the common people"
despite "the oligarchs" waiting "with open maws to trap those of us
who are coming to power."

Hundreds of Peruvian workers gathered in Lima to protest President
Alan Garcia's policies, including a crackdown against human rights
defenders in March and April. General Confederation of Peruvian
Workers (CGTP) general secretary Mario Huaman denounced companies
"that murder workers";
on Apr. 30 four workers were buried alive in an accident at a Lima
construction site

Some 15,000 Ecuadoran unionists celebrated a decision by the
Constituent Assembly to ban labor subcontracting; about 480,000
Ecuadorans are estimated to be working under contracts with third
parties. The Assembly has been meeting since November to write a new
Constitution.

Colombian union members marched in Bogota to protest an increase in
the number of unionists murdered this year. According to the National
Union School, 39 have been killed since the beginning of the year, a
71.4% increase over the same period in 2007. The marchers also
demanded higher pay and rejected a Free Trade Agreement (FTA, or TLC
in Spanish) signed with the US but not yet ratified by the US
Congress. Several people were injured and others were arrested in
confrontations with the police.

Thousands of members of Venezuela's National Workers Union (UNT)
chanted "Chavez, homeland or death" as they marched through west and
central Caracas in support of the leftist government of President Hugo
Chávez Frias, while thousands of members of the opposition
Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV) marched through central
Caracas to the National Assembly to demand higher wages. On April 30
Chavez signed a decree raising the minimum wage by 30% to $372 a
month, which he said was the highest in Latin America. The CTV
supported the increase but said it barely covered the rise in the cost
of living. In 2007 Venezuela had a 22.5% annual inflation rate—also
the highest in Latin America. So far this year the annual rate has
been 19.5%.

In El Salvador, thousands of workers marched in the capital to demand
"urgent changes" in President Tony Saca's policies. "Saca's government
is responsible for the crisis we're going through; he can't fool us
with his publicity stories about the international crisis being
responsible," construction worker Pedro Martinez told the Associated
Press wire service.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans marched before President Raúl Castro
and union leaders in the traditional celebration in Havana's Plaza de
la Revolución. (Univision, May 1 from AP; La Jornada, Mexico, May 2
from AFP, DPA, Reuters, Prensa Latina; El Diario-La Prensa, NY, May 2
from unidentified wire services, print edition)

Haitian grassroots and progressive organizations prepared for May 1
with a call for an increase of the minimum wage from 70 gourdes
($1.84) a day to 300 gourdes ($7.89). The call—dated April 29 and
signed by the Popular Democratic Movement (MODEP), Tet Kole Ti Peyizan
Ayisyen ("Small Haitian Peasants Unity"), Batay Ouvriye ("Workers
Struggle") and other groups—said the wage increase was a way to enable
the working class to confront "Clorox hunger." (This is a popular
expression for hunger so painful it feels like swallowing bleach,
frequently referring to the situation that led to violent protests
over food in April.)

The call also demanded that Jean Paul Faubert, the owner of Societe
Haitienne de Couture SA, an assembly plant in Port-au-Prince's Sonapi
industrial park, pay back wages and other benefits to the 800 workers
who lost their jobs when he closed the plant. (AlterPresse, April 29,
30)