RICO’s Q – May 1 is Labor Day (Día del Trabajador) in Costa Rica. Coinciding with International Workers’ Day, the day is a mandatory pay holiday.
While workers across the country take a day off from their daily grind, the country’s politicians take the day for pomp and ceremony, which includes the President’s report for the year, to the Legislative Assembly.
This Día del Trabajador will have a historical nuance due to a possible public reelection of the presidency of the Legislature, after 13 years of not happening. That is to say, we will know the vote of each one of the legislators in the election of the six administrative positions of the First Power of the Republic.
Across Latin America, there are likely demonstrations in cities across the region, a frequent rallying day for worker organizations, to mark Labor Day.
Confirmed rally locations include: Bogota, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; La Paz, Bolivia; Mexico City, Mexico; Montevideo, Uruguay; Quito, Ecuador; Santiago, Chile; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Demonstrations are likely in other urban centers across the region, with rallies particularly likely in front of government buildings and public squares. Avoid any demonstrations May 1 due to possible clashes.
In Costa Rica, the four major labor unions – the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (ANEP), the Asociación Nacional De Educadores (ANDE), the Sindicato Nacional de Enfermería (SINAE), and the Unión de Pequeños Productores Agropecuarios Costarricenses (UPANACIONAL)- have announced plans to hold a march in downtown San Jose.
However, the single largest manifestations will be on the major roads back into the Greater Metropolitan Area – GAM or Gran Area Metropolitana in Spanish, though not for protests, but for heavy traffic conditions as vacationers head back from the beaches and reports.
On the Ruta 27, from 1 pm to 7 pm, the road between Pozon (Orotina) toll booths to Cuidad Colon will be one way into the GAM. Called reversible lanes, the Policia de Transito will block off all access to the 47 kilometers section of the Ruta 27 going west and drivers are urged to respect the speed restrictions, as if traffic conditions will permit speeds higher than the posted 60 km/h.
Happy Día del Trabajador and don’t forget the umbrella, as the rainy season is upon us.
From the national weather service, “(…) afternoon instability will continue in the Pacific regions, where showers are also forecast accompanied by scattered electrical storms. The Central Valley will also present variable rainfall”. See the full weather report for this Monday here.
