About 20 people yelled that they had not been allowed past metal detectors to see President Bush’s speech in Barelas on Wednesday, although a chamber official said the event was public.
T-VI student Mary Martha Borum, 20, said she went to the event to protest but was told by security to go to a designated protest area — about three blocks away — unless she got rid of her signs.
“They just said, simply, you can’t come in,” she said. “I think it was the fact that they knew we were going to protest.”
Loretta Armenta, president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, said it sent out invitations to its members and had a roped-off section for seniors, handicapped and early arrivals.
“If people wanted to come in, they were allowed to come in, just not in the reserved areas,” she said.
A few protesters did get inside and flashed signs during Bush’s speech.
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“I find that contradictory because some were inside,” Armenta said of the protesters’ statements.
Armenta said she was busy during Bush’s visit and was unaware that more protesters were outside.
Borum, a member of the New Mexico chapter of Refuse and Resist, said Bush puts too much money into nuclear energy when it should go toward education.
She added that she doesn’t like Bush’s tax relief plans.
“It’s all for rich people,” she said.
Justin Fiset, 20, a UNM student standing with the protest group, said he came to the event because he wanted to express his opinions. He said he showed up willing to give Bush’s ideas a chance.
“I wanted to hear what he had to say,” Fiset said.
