Growing Pains of Spanish Socialism Part II: May Days of a Lively Movement

On the first of May in Palma, Mallorca (Majorca), I asked my non-Spanish friends whether there would be a May Day parade in town. Nobody knew; some had never heard of May Day. A taxi driver finally located the parade and took me to it, insisting all the way, with gestures, that all politicians are banditos and not to be trusted.

Hundreds of marchers gathered in the Plaza de Espana, most with banners or insignia of their own party or union, and a few with both Socialist and Communist emblems. The parade in Palma, and elsewhere in Spain, was sponsored jointly by the Socialist and Communist parties. The parade started punctually, marched in an orderly, spirited fashion, chanting and singing along its planned course through t...