HAVANA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,200 foreign delegates are set to join Cuba's May Day celebrations in honor of International Workers' Day, state daily Granma said on Friday.
The Cuban capital's May 1 parades and rallies at Revolution Square traditionally attract an international contingent, including a growing number of U.S. nationals, according to Ulises Guilarte, secretary general of the Central Union of Cuban Workers (CTC).
In the past two years, Americans have comprised the second largest foreign delegation participating in the show of solidarity for the world's workers, he said.
Some of these activists are invited by the different trade unions or solidarity organizations, while others are individuals who come "to support the (Cuban) revolution," Granma cited Guilarte as saying.
In the lead-up to May 1, many foreign delegates undertake volunteer work or visit workers' organizations "to find out firsthand the reality of the Caribbean nation," he said.
Cuba's workers will call for the lifting of the U.S.-led trade embargo against Cuba and the withdrawal of the U.S. military from a naval base at Guantanamo Bay, and express their support for Cuban President Raul Castro and his economic and social reforms.
On May 2, Havana's convention center will host an International Solidarity Meeting, where foreign and Cuban experts will debate the impact neoliberal policies have on the working class.
This year's May Day will be the first key workers' celebration to take place following the death of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Nov. 25 of last year, who regularly led the central rally at Revolution Square.
Last year, 1,600 foreign delegates from 209 trade unions and social organizations from 68 countries took part in Cuba's May Day parade.
