Thousands march for a 40-hour workweek on International Workers’ Day

Tens of thousands of workers took portion successful Labor Day demonstrations successful Mexico City connected Thursday, demanding a five-day workweek and entree to amended housing.

After gathering astatine designated sites crossed Mexico City arsenic aboriginal arsenic 7:30 a.m., marchers began arriving astatine the Zócalo soon aft 9 a.m.

Each national was announced and applauded arsenic it strode into the main plaza. The ambiance was described arsenic “festive” by La Jornada newspaper, with respective bands playing determination euphony connected stages acceptable up successful beforehand of the Cathedral.

Signs and speeches supported reducing the authoritative workweek from 48 to 40 hours. Lawmakers were urged to enactment a measure that would mandate 2 days disconnected each workweek. The authorities is presently bottled up successful Congress.

Union leaders besides called for amended wellness attraction and an extremity to taxes connected contractual benefits.

Union organizers and labour representatives past lunched with President Claudia Sheinbaum astatine the National Palace.

👨‍🏭 Integrantes de diversos sindicatos marchan hacia el Zócalo capitalino para exigir respeto a sus derechos laborales, en el marco del #DíaDelTrabajo.

📸#DíaEnImágenes / Yazmín Ortega Cortés pic.twitter.com/eiL7xrYmzo

— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) May 1, 2025

Alternative demonstrations abounded. One radical demanding a 40-hour enactment week broke disconnected from the Zócalo objection and marched to the Monument to the Revolution for a 2nd rally.

At the aforesaid time, a labour rights radical marched from the Monument to the Revolution to the Palacio de Bellas Artes to amusement enactment for unionized workers whose demands person been dismissed by management.

Even the U.S.-based enactment Democrats Abroad staged a protestation for May Day, arsenic the vacation is known successful the U.S. The enactment summoned participants to the U.S. Embassy successful Mexico City successful an enactment of absorption against U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s efforts to found “an authoritarian constabulary authorities bent against the radical of the United States and Mexico.”

Not each was peaceful, however. El Universal paper reported that constabulary skirmished with masked demonstrators equipped with bottles, metallic pipes and Molotov cocktails. The vandals — calling themselves “Bloque Negro” (Black Alliance”) — caused harm to respective shops successful the Historic Center.

A contented dating to 1913

International Workers’ Day, oregon Labor Day, is an authoritative vacation successful Mexico inscribed successful the 1917 Constitution.

Whereas successful the United States, Labor Day (celebrated connected the archetypal Monday successful September) is mostly seen arsenic a agelong play for picnics, barbecues and the unofficial extremity of summer, successful Mexico it features citywide marches, declarations of solidarity and speeches by national leaders and politicians.

What should you expect connected Labor Day successful Mexico?

In summation to stipulating May 1 arsenic a national holiday, Article 123 of the Constitution established the 8-hour workday, 6-day workweek, minimum wage, adjacent pay, and the close to organize, to collectively bargain, and to strike.

Over time, the May 1 commemoration has gained successful value successful Mexico, becoming a time of reflection astir labour conditions and societal justice. It is besides a time to observe the advances that person transformed Mexico’s labour environment.

Among the developments recognized are an extremity to kid labor, improved labour information conditions, a request to person Sundays disconnected and improved workers’ compensation benefits.

The archetypal nationalist commemoration of Labor Day successful Mexico took spot connected May 1, 1913, erstwhile the Casa de Obrero Mundial (House of the World Worker) national sponsored a march successful which 25,000 workers participated.

International designation of May 1 arsenic Workers’ Day memorializes the convulsive repression of a labour protestation successful Chicago connected May 1, 1886.

With reports from La Jornada, El Universal, El Economista, Excelsior and Milenio