Brazil's Senate approves a shorter workweek in major win for Lula ahead of runoff

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Senate approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday to reduce the country's maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours without a salary cut, a move backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who hopes it will boost his standing against Flávio Bolsonaro in the Oct. 25 presidential runoff.

Lula is expected to sign the shorter workweek into law next week after the measure passed the Senate with an overwhelming majority in two votes. Many lawmakers of Bolsonaro's opposition stopped blocking the initiative as they did for months and sided with allies of the president.

“Didn't I say this was going to work?" said Davi Alcolumbre, the president of Brazil's Senate, after the result of the first vote was announced. He set up the vote between the first and the second round of the election.

Recent polls indicated widespread support for the measure, despite the opposition of many business owners.

“The majority of voters have already chosen their candidate, so any shift in approval can determine the election,” said Mayra Goulart, a political scientist from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Lula has taken a number of steps in recent days to shore up support before the runoff, including new fuel tax cuts, the extension of existing subsidies , the pledge to pardon debts of more than 3.6 million small businesses with the federal government, the decision to block signal for cell phones around prisons, and a boost in payments of a welfare program for university students.

The change in the workweek system is regarded as the pinnacle of those initiatives.

On Tuesday, Bolsonaro, who bested Lula by 2.2 million votes in the first-round election, declared his support for the measure, a reversal from his previous long-standing opposition. He previously advocated for a more flexible payment-by-the-hour regime, called for individual negotiations between employees and employers and repeatedly called the legislation election-motivated.

“It seems to me that, after societal pressure, after all the street protests in Brazil, (Bolsonaro's) Liberal Party decided to vote to end the six days on, one day off schedule,” Lula said Tuesday.

Hours after announcing his support for the change, Bolsonaro told business owners that the new Congress, where Bolsonaro's party could reach a simple majority with other allied parties come February, could review the measure, local newspaper O Globo reported.

The constitutional amendment establishes a 40-hour weekly limit and two rest days without reducing pay. More than 37 million workers could benefit from the new rules, according to the government.

Lula's government has been working on the proposal since last year. “Any change made in an election year can be considered an electoral measure,” said Carla Beni, an economist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think-tank and university.

People working in the shadow economy, such as freelancers and delivery drivers, will not be affected by the new legislation.

The momentum behind this reform reflects a growing trend across Latin America. Neighboring countries such as Chile and Colombia have recently enacted landmark legislation to shorten their respective workweeks to 40 and 42 hours, which emboldened Brazilian labor groups to seek the same.

In February, Mexican lawmakers approved a proposal by President Claudia Sheinbaum to trim the 48-hour workweek. Working hours will be shortened gradually to a 40-hour workweek by 2030.

Chile in 2023 passed the so-called 40-Hour Law, which reduced its workweek to 40 hours as of last year. It applies to all workers under Chile’s Labor Code, without reducing pay.

But Argentina has bucked that trend under President Javier Milei and may extend its 48-hour workweek.

The amendment gives businesses 14 months to adopt the shorter workweek, which was a key sticking point in the negotiations. Many business leaders and lawmakers wanted the changes to be made gradually over 10 years.

Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.

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