Piqueteros From Buenos Aires To Denver

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Claims for justice, human rights, fair treatment and decent labor conditions are universal. They know no political or geographic boundaries. This was brought home to me, and six of my Argentine relatives, on a visit to Denver, Colorado, last week. I had just begun giving my relatives a tour of Denver and they were commenting about how modern and orderly it was. “It’s so beautiful, and so clean,” one of them said. “And there are no protesters here. It’s so peaceful. You don’t have noisy traffic and piqueteros like we do in Argentina.”

Then, lo and behold, just as we were walking down the sidewalk, hundreds of protesters began marching down the 16th Street Mall, one of Denver’s main commercial streets. They crossed our path and, with chants (“¡Si Se Puede!”), songs and cardboard signs, they demanded “Justice for Janitors.” They were protesting for better pay and benefits. The protesters, who were members of the Service Employees International Union, provided a perfect reminder that claims for social justice and decent working conditions are universal. They are limited neither to Argentina nor to South America nor even to developing countries in general. And even in the heart of Denver, a wealthy, developed city, these claims can be made manifest, reminding us that modern politics has yet to reach its potential as a means to resolving social inequality.

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