March 22nd - scenes from the general strike/22 março - cenas da greve geral

On March 22nd, there was a general strike in Lisbon. It was intended to protest economic austerity, unemployment, and job cuts. For Americans and others who have grown unfamiliar with mass labor action, a general strike differs from a normal strike because it involves every union (and theoretically, every worker) in a general protest, rather than a single-industry union protesting a specific employer.

There were lots of different posters and banners around town in the days leading up to the strike (I think every stakeholder was promoting it their own way), but this was my personal favorite, so I photographed it.

The poster translates to: "General Strike. Occupy the streets. Block everything."
Obviously, this is blunt and meant to get noticed and antagonize, but isn't that what a strike advertisement should do?

Anyway, Liz and I met the demonstration at the foot of Praça Camões, as it was marching from the Rossio towards the Palácio de São Bento. After it passed that spot, we ducked back home for a brief rest, then went to Palácio de São Bento to capture the scene there. What follows are pictures of the marchers and the demonstration.

Here's the front of the march as it heads down Rua Nova da Trindade towards the Praça. From left to right, the signs read:
* "No to forced work"
* "Precariousness has no future"
* "Austerity is poverty. Work is (jobs are) progress"
* "Larger salaries. Better hours."
* Also, "A Luta Continua" means "The fight/struggle continues"
The CGTP, which you may see the logo of here and throughout, is basically the AFL-CIO of Portugal; i.e. the largest trade union confederation.

Here are more strikers linking their hands to create a clear path for their brethren.

Rounding the corner to head down Largo do Chiado.

Here's media photographers using the church steps to get a better view of the passing strikers.

Here's the march winding past the Praça Camões and heading down the Rua da Loreto towards the Palácio de São Bento. They're heading straight for our apartment!

Now, here's some photos of some of the other groups which fielded their own signs and identities as the march continued (I know this might seem small for a general strike, but they were going down a narrow street, so they got stretched out and thinned in the middle, but it was really long).

These are some group of Metro maintenance workers (not sure for which unit). The red sign notes they are "Against the merger of Carris and Metro". I didn't know such a merger was a possibility. The yellow sign behind says, essentially, "Against the robbery of jobs and salary".

Here's the teachers union:

This sign says "Fight for freedom and democracy. In April fulfill the constitution." I'll be honest, I'm not sure what is happening in April that they're referring to, but I'm going to try and find out.

Sign of good organization: they had individuals (men and women equally) spaced out to just the right places with megaphones to allow for maximum chanting coverage. Notice the cheat sheet in her left hand ;-).

This was a branch of CGTP from Amadora, a suburban district north of Lisbon. Their sign says (this is a very rough translation) "No more paying for crises created by misgovernment. No more sacrificing on their behalf."

Ah yes, CTT Correios. These would be the postal workers. No mail delivered yesterday!

These are "workers in commerce and services". The first line of their sign reads "Say no to layoffs without just cause", but the second I can't really translate, because it is referring to some kind of obscure labor law change regarding how hours are counted (it's not referring to bank hours). Well, I guess I kind of just translated it, I just can't explain it...

Here's the nurses' (enfermeiros) union. Their sign reads "only the fight/struggle can give back what was stolen from us".

This one's for Mrs. Nojo. Their sign isn't very big or legible, but it's the psychologists (psícologos)! The part that's legible reads "the time is now to invest in health and education". How very psychologisty of them.

No affiliation given here, but the sign was colorful. It reads "Enough!! Stop social terrorism. European general strike."

It became more disorganized as it got towards the back, understandably. Here was the Almada Municipal Theater, saying "we want all the bread!" Ok...

We start to see hand-painted, home-made signs. Basically, I think these are sympathetic groups/individuals who aren't officially with unions who are marching of their own accord, which they seemed welcome to do.

More marchers. The first sign says "general disagreement". The middle sign references the so-called "troika" of Germany, France, and the IMF which provided the bail-out money to and/or now monitor the finances of countries like Greece, Portugal, and Ireland. Finally, "No more Merkozy" is an anti-Merkel and anti-Sarkozy sign, using the nickname that hasbeen created to refer to them in tandem (like "Brangelina").

I wasn't able to get a good picture of their sign, but these were self-described feminists.

Austerity? Not an inevitable policy!

Here they are winding their way through Rua dos Poiais de São Bento, very near the Palácio de São Bento. Very narrow street to accomodate such a large crowd, but it's Lisbon...

The police stand guard at the entrance to the Palácio de São Bento. Not really that overwhelming a presence, comparatively, but noticeable.

The Portuguese flag amidst the crowd...

I have seen various small demonstrations fill up the little plaza in front of the Palácio de São Bento, but this was definitely huge. It spilled out into the streets feeding into the plaza.

Finally, here's a different perspective on the crowd.