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      SPECIAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY IN CUBA
       RADIO HAVANA CUBA / ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT


CUBAN LABOR LEADER PEDRO ROSS DELIVERS KEYNOTE SPEECH 
BEFORE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS GATHERED AT HAVANA'S 
PLAZA DE LA REVOLUCION ON INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY

Havana, May 1(RHC)-- The Secretary General of the Cuban
Workers Confederation, Pedro Ross, delivered the keynote
address this morning before hundreds of thousands of Cubans
gathered to parade through Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion
on International Workers Day.  Ross opened his speech by
saying that this massive number of Cubans are gathered to
"remind the world that this is the socialist and democratic 
revolution of the workers."

The Cuban labor leader said that when economic crises fall
disproportionately on the backs of workers in other
countries, during Cuba's economic crisis -- known as the
special period -- "the struggle is aimed at preserving the
social achievements of the Cuban Revolution and the dignity
of human beings."

The secretary general of the Cuban Workers Confederation
pointed out that never before has the U.S. blockade of Cuba
been so isolated and repudiated in the international
community.  This situation, he added, "would not have been
possible without the resistance of the Cuban people, even in
the face of such adverse conditions."  Pedro Ross said that
resistance will continue until it's demonstrated that the
only ethical thing to do is lift the blockade, "totally and 
unconditionally."

The slogan for 1998 in Cuba is "Year of the 40th Anniversary
of the Decisive Battles of the War of Liberation" -- in
reference to the battles against dictatorship forces in 1958
leading up to the January 1st, 1959 victory.  The Cuban
labor leader said decisive battles still lie ahead.  Among
them, said Ross, will be Cuba's on-going participation in
efforts to forge worldwide labor unity in the face of the
neoliberal free market onslaught.  He said that struggle
continues on the rise around the world.

Finally, the secretary general of the Cuban Workers
Confederation officially dedicated International Workers Day
festivities in Cuba to the late, charismatic labor leader
Jesus Menendez, on the 50th anniversary of his
assassination.  Pedro Ross said the dreams of Menendez in
terms of the conditions and dignity of sugarcane workers
have been transformed into reality by the Cuban Revolution. 

Following the speech -- delivered alongside President Fidel
Castro in front of the Plaza's Jose Marti Monument -- an
immense river of people began parading through the Plaza de
la Revolucion and past the Monument.  The march was led by
the members of 37 vanguard work centers, to the music of a
gigantic band and a chorus of two thousand voices.  More
than 900 invited foreign guests from 139 labor 
organizations in 41 countries shared the central podium
along with the leaders of the Cuban Revolution, outstanding
workers and other personalities.

The march through the Plaza de la Revolucion lasted a full
two hours.  Preliminary estimates place at well over a
million the number of people who filed past the Jose Marti
Monument, as many as 80 to 100 abreast.  Last year, 
International Workers Day mobilized one million 300 thousand
Cubans, and today's celebration is expected to surpass that
figure.   The Cuban government, labor leaders and mass
organizations predicted that some six million Cubans would
take to the streets today of the island's major cities.


           [c] 1998, Radio Habana Cuba
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