Labor Day

Learn a little more about this commemorative date

by: Alessandro Muniz Iago dos Santos

Labor Day is celebrated on May 1st as a way of appreciating workers around the world.

The date dates back to May 1, 1886, when a strike took place in Chicago, USA, with the aim of achieving better working conditions.

In the period between the two world wars, the maximum working day was set at eight hours a day.

"In Brazil, Labor Day or Workers' Day began to be celebrated in the 1910s by workers' movements, which were gaining strength in the country. The strengthening of the labor cause in Brazil led to May 1st becoming a national holiday during the government of Artur Bernardes.

The celebration, closely linked to workers' movements, was co-opted by Getúlio Vargas when he was in power. Vargas developed a strong labor policy, granting benefits to the working class, while maintaining a dictatorship in our country.

Vargas' labor policy was part of his effort to maintain popular support in the country. He reached out to the workers, keeping them under the tutelage of the state and away from the trade unionist and socialist currents common in that milieu. Vargas tried to empty the date of meaning, making it a time for celebration and rest rather than a time for struggle and political engagement, as it originally was.

During the Estado Novo, Vargas made great speeches and promoted parades and public celebrations on Workers' Day. The message conveyed was that The message conveyed was that the workers' achievements were the result of Vargas' favors and not of the workers' struggle and commitment to their rights."