Tuesday, May 02, 2006
SWOP homepageAnd the real count yesterday?
I'll add to the following from Louis that even Democracy Now! is saying 1.5 million, yet another undercount that would seem to show how disconnected the program is from those sectors that are doing this work. Amy G, maybe when you come to NM you should hang with the folks and not be groveling for dollars with all the gentrifiers up in Santa Fe!
Anyway, Louis wrote:
People on the ground in two places in particular - San Antonio and Los Angeles - would dispute what the press is saying about turnout during yesterday's marches. San Antonio's numbers were stated to be more like 80,000. In Los Angeles? One organizer I know said one million, and another thought it was more like 2 million. These were massive events. Meanwhile, one demonstration alone in San Diego (more occurred there) had 30,000, and it shut down the border. At least six major border crossings between the US and Mexico were likewise shut down from California to the Gulf of Mexico.
Here in Albuquerque our local paper is telling us that there were "over 1,000." I've seen lots of crowds here before and there were at least 4,000 in that park - the number kept growing and growing as the afternoon went by. Several estimates ranged from 6,000 to even 8,000. It
took the marchers over a half hour just to file into the downtown plaza.
See some of the coverage at:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_3773613
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA050206.1A.immigration.12b59b38.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1765520,00.html
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/apborder05-01-06.htm (you used to be able to get into the journal online by typing "free" in the name and "free" in the password. El M doesn't know if that's still the case, though.)
