In response to President Trump’s inauguration, people came together on Monday in downtown Albuquerque to call for protection of workers’ rights, immigrants, and more housing.
Despite temperatures in the 30’s, hundreds of protesters gathered at Robinson Park.
“If it were 10, 20 below zero, I would be here today,” said Bill Tiwald with Veterans For Peace. Members from the group and other local organizations like the People’s Housing Project, and the American Indian Movement, gave speeches on important issues affecting New Mexicans.
Michelle Stearn lives in Albuquerque’s International District and said she sees her neighbors struggling on a daily basis.
“They're living outside. They're making fires. They might be struggling with meeting their daily basic needs. And then I see on the flip side, the government, at the state level and the federal level, just blowing money on wars that none of us as taxpayers agree to,” she said.
Stearn says that money could be better spent on the local level.
Ana Moran came to the protest because she said she believes in the power of community.
“Today is the inauguration of a president who doesn't represent the majority of us,” she said. “We're at a crossroads, and we have big decisions to make, and I think the more that we decide to stand up and come together, gather, organize, strategize and process the moment, the more resilient that we will be able to be as we live through hardship and disasters.”
Trump lost in New Mexico, but as the Albuquerque Journal reported, he picked up a bigger share of the vote than he did four years ago in most of the state’s counties. That included gains among Native American and Hispanic voters.
But Patrick Gallegos with the Party for Socialism and Liberation said Trump represents larger issues of exploitation. He added resistance to the new administration will be ongoing.
“This isn't something we're going to do just today and then be done with it,” he said. “This is something we want to keep doing for the next, for however long it takes – for the working class people in this country to take political and economic power away from the ruling class, away from the billionaires that Trump is on his payroll.”
Support from the coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
