Argentine workers mark May Day with protests over Milei's labor-law overhaul

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine workers protested in the capital of Buenos Aires on Thursday, as annual May Day demonstrations in the South American nation coincided with smoldering anger over President Javier Milei's recent overhaul of long-robust labor protections.

A day before International Workers’ Day, the General Confederation of Labor, or CGT, Argentina’s largest union group, marched to the government headquarters downtown to “defend decent employment” against Milei’s changes to the labor code, which since 1974 had guaranteed generous protections and rights for Argentine workers but also raised business costs that scared off foreign investors.

“We want to say to this government, enough is enough," Octavio Argüello, a leader of CGT, told the crowds of workers beating drums, waving banners and chanting against Milei. "Our patience has run out, Mr. President.”

Past presidents for decades tried to liberalize the labor market but failed in the face of fierce resistance from Argentina's powerful unions. Despite weeks of protests and a nationwide strike, Milei pushed through the labor-law package in February in a major victory for his free-market agenda.

Milei’s opponents are clinging to an appeal process challenging the law’s constitutionality. Union leaders plan to file a further petition after a court last week overturned an injunction that had suspended the law’s implementation at their request. The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court.

The labor overhaul has struck a nerve in a nation where workers’ unions helped found the left-leaning Peronist movement that dominated politics here since the 1940s. The issue is particularly sensitive as Milei’s flagship drive to eliminate inflation stalls, wages lag behind prices and unemployment ticks up.

“The economy is not growing as strongly as the government thought it would," said Marcelo J. García, Americas director for the geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage. "The majority of Argentines may feel that they’re not seeing the benefits of (Milei's) economic program. And that's Milei's biggest political risk at the moment."

The new law, aimed at helping businesses more easily hire and fire new workers, allows companies to increase workdays to 12 hours up from eight, extend probation periods during which employees can be dismissed without benefits and replace overtime with time off instead of extra pay.

“This is a government that doesn’t care about the people,” said Sergio Aguirre, 51, a bus driver at the march. “Costs keep going up and our salaries stay the same. We survive on overtime pay. Now they want to take that away with the rest of our benefits.”

The legislation also curtails workers’ right to strike, diminishes the power of national unions to determine salaries across entire industries and limits courts’ discretion on severance payouts, which critics say long ensnared employers in costly lawsuits and discouraged formal hiring. Nearly half of all Argentines work off the books.

In the last few months Argentina’s construction and manufacturing sectors have shown signs of recession.

Fundación Pro Tejer, a non-profit organization representing textile manufacturers, reported this week that Argentina’s textile production for the first two months of the year registered a nearly 30% drop year-on-year. Seven out of every 10 sewing machines now sit idle in the country’s factories, it says.

The layoff notices are piling up. Argentina’s formal labor market has lost roughly 200,000 jobs since Milei took office, according to the Ministry of Human Capital, and unemployment in the last quarter of 2025 rose over a percentage point compared to the same time the year before, to 7.5% — a rate that’s still relatively low because of Argentina’s massive share of informal workers.

Milei, who came to power in late 2023 on a tide of public disenchantment with the budget-busting populism of his Peronist predecessors, has dismissed reports of economic challenges as “absurdities spread by the media.”

“We receive international recognition for our achievements,” he told an economic conference late Wednesday. “But as the saying goes, ‘No one is a prophet in his own land.’”

Thursday’s march offered an indication of what may lie ahead as the president's promises of radical change run up against economic misery.

“We'll stay in the street until the government changes or backtracks," said 47-year-old Manuel Correa, who works at a textile factory on the outskirts of Buenos Aires that slashed its workforce in the last two years by 58%, or 350 employees. “We don't have an alternative.”

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Laborers protest during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Workers join arms during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A laborer holds an Argentine flag during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela arrived Thursday in the capital of the South American country, seven years after the U.S. Homeland Security Department ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.

The resumption of a nonstop commercial flight between the two countries comes months after the U.S. capture of then President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas in early January.

It also comes a month after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Venezuela.

“I'm very excited to go and see the family and I'm looking forward to see the country,” said passenger Lennart Ochoa of Miami shortly before boarding. He said that he was “ready to go" and got his ticket as soon as they were available. “Just to go and see the family on a direct flight from Miami to Caracas is priceless.”

The director of the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, Jarrod Agen, was among the passengers on the inaugural flight. Agen is scheduled to meet with Venezuelan officials and executives from energy and mining sectors as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to facilitate the entry of U.S. companies into the South American country, reported the Venezuelan government.

At Miami International Airport, American Airlines staff handed passengers small Venezuelan flags. Balloons with its colors — yellow, blue and red — adorned the gate door leading to the plane.

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, departed Miami at 10:11 a.m. EDT (1411 GMT), five minutes ahead of its scheduled time, according to Miami International Airport flight departure information. It arrived around three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.

Earlier, the airline said that a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he informed Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over the country, allowing Americans to visit.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.

The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the U.S. and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighboring Latin American countries.

In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights, it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.

American Airlines was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.

“Parents will be able to connect with children, grandparents with grandchildren, and entire families with a home that shaped and raised them,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference before boarding started. “Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Passengers line up to check in for a U.S.-bound commercial flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2026, as direct air service between the United States and Venezuela resumes after seven years. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

American Airlines Flight AA3599, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, gets a water cannon salute as it taxis away from the gate, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A National Guard officer checks passengers ID's prior to check in for a U.S.-bound commercial flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2026, as direct air service between the United States and Venezuela resumes after seven years. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A passenger boards American Airlines Flight AA3599, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Capt. Ric Wilson waves a Venezuelan flag and the first officer waves a U.S. flag as they prepare to fly American Airlines Flight AA3599, the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Miami International Airport in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A worker cleans the check-in area ahead of the arrival of a U.S. commercial flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, April 30, 2026, as direct air service between the United States and Venezuela resumes after seven years. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillo)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez speaks at Miraflores Palace during a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)