BY SARA OLKON, DIANA MARRERO AND ELAINE DE VALLE

 A week after a federal raid swept Elian Gonzalez out of Miami, Calle Ocho turned into a river of outrage, unity and mourning Saturday as close to 100,000 people poured onto Little Havana's main street to demonstrate their anger at the U.S. government and support for the little rafter boy's Miami relatives.

 ''I don't think Elian should be returned to a repressive government. He will just become a puppet of the state,'' said Ruben La Rosa, 35, of Miami Shores.

 Early arrivals waving Cuban and U.S. flags gathered around the Bay of Pigs monument on 13th Avenue, near a picture of Elisabeth Brotons -- Elian's mother -- who died in the voyage from Cuba last November. Beneath the photo lay flowers, a silver cross and a Cuban flag wreath of red, white and blue carnations.

 Many wore black despite temperatures in the high 80s. Some cooled themselves with circular paper fans that read ''I vote Republican.''

 ''We have suffered from the heat, but the clothes are a sign of grief regardless of whether it's warm or not,'' said Maria Mesa, 55, a social worker. ''We didn't come here for a picnic or for joy.''

 Eighteen people were treated on the scene, mostly for fainting or heat exposure, said Danny Maree, Miami Police Fire-Rescue chief.

 Miami Police Lt. Rene Landa said about 100,000 people attended the event.

 Elian's Miami relatives, great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and his family, were not there. Family spokesman Armando Gutierrez, who did attend, said they were still recuperating from the shock of the raid April 22 that removed the child from their home.

 Several smaller counterdemonstrations in support of the government's action also took place around the county. The largest, along U.S. 1 in South Dade, attracted about 2,500 people, police said. It was largely peaceful, with two arrests late Saturday for battery and disorderly conduct.

 MANY CRITICIZED

 Many demonstrators there railed against local Cuban-American politicians and said it was the Gonzalez family that broke the law. Hundreds waved American flags. A handful displayed Confederate flags.

 At the Little Havana demonstration, many demonstrators wore ribbons -- white for peace, black for mourning and green for hope, such as the one on Ana Bonnin, 56, of Miami Beach, who came from Cuba when she was 18.

 ''I know God will still do a miracle. I believe he does things his own way,'' said Bonnin, who showed bruises on her ribs and legs that she said came from being kicked by police officers at a previous protest.

 LEFTOVER ANGER

 Some protesters were tense when they arrived because of clashes with police officers during protests last week. Some demonstrators have complained of police brutality.

 Urpi Byron, 25, a student at Florida International University, carried a sign that read ''Please don't hurt me. I'm peacefully protesting.'' She said her mother was pepper-sprayed in the eyes last weekend.

 Fellow protesters carried signs that read: ''Say no to police donations,'' and ''We demand respect, we pay taxes.'' But others said they saw few officers on the street.

 Pembroke Pines resident Ann Sigler, 42, walked from Le Jeune Road to south of Fourth Avenue carrying a picture of a crying President Lincoln and said she did not see one officer in 38 blocks, which delighted her.

 The isolated incidents of vandalism on April 22, she said, were ''provoked by police who had zero tolerance.''

 Miami Police Lt. Bill Schwartz said that there were actually ''several hundred officers,'' including those from Miami-Dade Police and Florida Highway Patrol, at the event and that more field forces were ready just in case. They had not changed their strategy, he said.

 ''This is how we would approach any type of peaceful demonstration,'' he said, adding that there were no arrests or incidents. ''We've had nothing but good reports. Some officers are reporting that people are going up and hugging them.''

 City Manager Donald Warshaw said later Saturday that he had fulfilled his promise.

 ''I committed to the Miami City Commission [Thursday] that this event would show the entire world that Miami is a peaceful and wonderful community,'' Warshaw said. ''I am convinced those wounds [from last week's protests] were quickly healed.''

 OLIVE BRANCH

 So is Officer Richard Perez, who had a brief, tense moment about 5:30 p.m. as people leaving the area swarmed around his car that was parked at Southwest Eighth Avenue since 9 a.m.

 ''At first I was uneasy, but I realized they didn't want to hurt me. On the contrary, they were there to shake my hand and hug me,'' Perez said. ''It was a great feeling, being Cuban American and raised in this community. Today was a great day.''

 Lt. Landa, who coordinates police plans for special events, echoed that sentiment. He said most officers did not expect any mayhem.

 ''The crowd that comes out for these events, like the prayer vigil a few weeks ago, are there for the real cause, are the people we never have problems with,'' said Landa, who called the few who set fires and threw rocks last week ''thugs and antagonizers.''

 Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said he was impressed with the number of people of all ages and all nationalities who attended the main protest. He was also glad that the image portrayed to the world was one of a solemn and serene mood.

 ''It was a strong expression of emotions, but it was done peacefully. It was done in calm, in a nonviolent fashion,'' Penelas said.

 ''That's the kind of image that is important to send out to the rest of the country.''

 SENSE OF BETRAYAL

 Still, the word on protesters' lips was betrayal.

 ''[Last] Saturday was the marking day for the death of liberty,'' said Emiseo de la Guardia, 45, who lives near Homestead and works for the county water and sewer department.

 He brought his two daughters -- Vanesa, 15, and Natalie, 13 -- to present a positive, peaceful image of the Cuban community, which he said had been maligned.

 Arturo Campa, 56, a black Cuban who came to the United States in 1959, said he wanted to reach out to Miami's blacks.

 ''My message to the rest of the community, especially the black community in Miami, is to help us out with our struggle for freedom because they, better than anyone, should understand that obtaining freedom is indeed a struggle,'' said the music producer for the Miami Latin Jazz Festival.

 ''I also want to make them aware that the resistance leaders in Cuba today are black.''

 The protest culminated at Fourth Street about 4 p.m. at a large stage with a podium where exile activists and several religious leaders of different races spoke and prayed.

 Exile radio commentator Armando Perez Roura said Cubans had been stigmatized.

 ''Cubans are decent people and we respect the laws. They are accusing us of many things to weaken our cause and to separate us.''

 That was why Nieves Lopez traveled from her Boynton Beach home to take part in the march, the first protest she has attended.

 ''There are a lot of layers to this story that the average American can't understand. The Cuban people have been presented as boorish, dumb, reactionary, and that's just so unfair,'' said Lopez, an English teacher who grew up in Ohio.

 ''I have found more veiled racism here. I've heard people say, 'All those Cubans should go back in a boat,' and they're calling us reactionary? Some people complain that they have given Cubans everything. My father wasn't given anything. [My parents] came to this country poor. They worked at very menial jobs and saved to send me to college.''

 OPPOSITION

 The crowd cheered as two Brothers to the Rescue planes flew overhead. But moments earlier, they booed as planes flew across the cloudless sky at about 4:30 p.m., with a sign that read, ''Don't fight your battles here, go home and fight your war.'' Another banner read: ''America loves Janet Reno.''

 ''Very rude,'' said Hialeah-born Gloria Martinez, 35. ''We would go back if we could.''

 Two who don't agree with protesters found themselves on Calle Ocho at 3 p.m. anyway. Hugo Miranda and Augusto Montecinos, 24-year-old students from Bolivia, live nearby and went to grab a bite at their favorite neighborhood eatery, Taquerias El Mexicano.

 ''We strongly believe the boy does belong with his father,'' Miranda said. ''It's hard to see it any other way.''

 Carlos Leon, 38, said most people do not understand that the father has no rights in Cuba, the homeland he left when he was 8. ''Kids belong to the state,'' he said.

 ''It's not that he shouldn't be with his dad,'' said Kathy Pereda, who said she wanted the courts to decide.

 Herald staff writers Ivette M. Yee, Tyler Bridges, Marika Lynch and Barbara de Lollis and Herald writers Jasmine Kripalani, Mireidy Fernandez and Janice Gallagher contributed to this report.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald