Amid a breezy and overcast day, several hundred people gathered Friday afternoon in Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza for May Day — International Workers Day — with signs and slogans espousing worker solidarity and opposition to the Trump administration.
Organizers — which included labor, immigration and community groups — said the protests are meant to send a message that all New Mexicans deserve better access to living wages and immigrant communities should live without fear.
“Today is about honoring working people, honoring immigrant communities and recognizing that young people are part of the working class,” New Mexico Dream Team Executive Director Fernanda Banda said during the rally. “…This is a reminder that we are not only fighting against harm, because we’re doing it every day, under this administration, but we are also fighting for something bigger, a future that we all build together.”
Attendees during the early portion of the rally told Source NM they felt it was important to show support for better working conditions and oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“Being in community helps you to feel less alone in the ideas that you have, because even if your government isn’t supporting you, you still have people who will,” said Bella Sánchez, 19, a speech therapy student at the University of New Mexico. “We all deserve access to a plethora of things in this life, better immigration, healthcare and food security.”
The demonstration is one of more than 3,000 coordinated across the country for May Day Strong, which builds upon the mass protests in January following the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota. At least five New Mexico locales, including Albuquerque, were scheduled to participate.
Jerry Godbout, an associate professor of chemistry at UNM-Valencia, said his reason for participating was simple, “I just like Burque over billionaires.”
