Bolivia Confirms Labour Day on May 1st

Sources: Agencia Boliviana de Información, Xinhua News Agency and Bolivia public holidays. The Bolivian Ministry of Labour announced, yesterday, that Bolivia would not move the observance of Labour Day (Día del Trabajador) from May 1 to Monday, April 30, 2007. Note that this year's May 1st celebrations will also coincide with the first anniversary of the nationalization of petroleum resources by the Morales government.

Analysis: This official government announcement confirms the listing of 2007 public holidays in Bolivia, that we published on August 5, 2006. Although, the moving of public holidays that fall on Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays, to the nearest Monday is quite common in South America, in Bolivia, the general rule is that fixed date holidays remain on the date that they celebrate. In any event, even in countries that have specific rules for moving mid-week public holidays, there are exceptions for patriotic public holidays (Independence Day, in Paraguay) or public holidays that are deemed too solemn to move around (Truth and Justice Memorial Day, in Argentina).