Marches, protests dominate as Latin America marks May Day

Parades took place across Latin America on Tuesday, with thousands rallying in support of embattled President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist government outside the presidential palace in Caracas, the capital of crisis-hit Venezuela.“Give me 10mn votes and I will get my hooks into the economic mafia!” shouted Maduro who is running for reelection on May 20 in a controversial vote boycotted by the opposition.“Money doesn’t buy anything,” said one demonstrator called Carlos who like millions of others has been caught up in Venezuela’s ongoing crisis, but who still remains faithful to Maduro, believing he can win the “economic war.” In Brazil, more than 2,000 leftist supporters of ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gathered near the prison where he is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption.Mostly dressed in the red of his Workers’ Party, they converged on the southern city of Curitiba to mark May Day and show support for the leftist icon who remains frontrunner ahead of October’s presidential election.In Chile, more than 12,000 workers joined two marches in the capital Santiago, calling for a “serious” dialogue with President Sebastian Pinera, and in Bolivia, President Evo Morales announced a 5.5 % hike in salaries.But in Central America, Honduran riot police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of May 1 demonstrators in the capital who joined an opposition-led protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez.Protesters were seen fleeing the choking gas, including some carrying children who had been overcome.Journalists estimated around 20,000 workers, students and those from the rural heartlands took part in the march before being confronted by about 1,000 riot police.