Mayday in Medellin – a provisional report

This report has been put together on the evening of the morning march, so some of it is probably incomplete.

Today in Medellin several thousand people took part in the annual Mayday march called by the two main trade union confederations. The most notable organised presence on the march was that of unions corresponding to different workplaces, notably the city’s public service workers. There was a small but lively anarchist ‘block’, with members of different collectives present. Members of the ‘block’ made painted grafitti along the route through the city centre, always complete with the circled A. For example “Down with the paramilitary candidates” (a reference, among others, to the current presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe Velez, who formented paramilitary groups while governor of the Antioquia region of which Medellin is the capital. He is currently second placed in the opinion polls). Also ‘Down with the ETTs” (temporary work agencies), and “Down with racism in the Exito” – a reference to the Exito supermarket chain’s refusal to hire black staff because of the image it creates. Ironic because behind their store in the centre is a park which is the most popular hangout for Medellin’s black population at the weekends.
Slogans were chanted (“Neither monopolistic capitalism, nor state communism, but libertarian socialism!” and “Against the state and the bosses, anarchy and revolution!” among others). And small banners were displayed.
The march was considered relatively calm, partly due to a change in police tactics ie less overt aggression. However some petards went off and there were at least 18 arrests (possibly double that number), of whom some were released in the afternoon. We await news on the rest. At the same time several financial targets (parking meters, cashpoints) in different districts were subject to explosions while the march was taking place.
It was notable the reduced participation of non-union groups such as the displaced people (120 of whom had occupied a city centre church a few days before), the families of the disappeared, neighborhood groups and militia members. This partly reflects the explosion of paramilitary activity in the neighborhoods, of which all these groups have been a target. For the same reason there are much less of the cultural activities which used to take place before and after the march in the neighborhoods in recent years, although the public service workers union did host its own street concert in the centre.