Strikers across 11 time zones were disciplined but furious. They carried union banners, communist red flags, and pictures of Lenin. In some cities, officials who tried to address them were booed into a shocked, frightened silence. And protest continues. More than a million and a half people turned out for May Day events.
Privatization equals theft.
Instead of compensating workers, the government is making huge interest payments to speculators. Since the early '90s, private firms have been making a killing on sky-high interest rates offered on government securities. Moreover, these predatory businesses refuse to pay their taxes, contributing to gargantuan tax-collection problems and shortfalls in the federal budget. On May 8, the government announced that within a few years, it will expect workers to bear the complete costs of housing and utilities. Breaking political gridlock.