Brazil's Senate approves a shorter workweek in major win for Lula ahead
of runoff
[October 15, 2026] By
MAURICIO SAVARESE and ELÉONORE HUGHES
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 in two rounds of voting with the same
result: 75 to 1 out of 81 members. The sole vote against it came from
former Vice President Hamilton Mourao, who served under President Jair
Bolsonaro.
Flávio Bolsonaro, who opposed the initiative until early this week,
voted for it remotely as he campaigned in southern Brazil. Analysts and
politicians say his allies in the Senate stopped blocking the popular
move so he wouldn't be hurt in his neck-to-neck race against Lula.
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.
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.
Brazil's president was quick to celebrate the decision.
“Today is a day to celebrate a historic achievement for millions of
workers,” Lula said in a statement. “This means having more time to
live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, take care of
yourself, and enjoy life. Those who work so hard to build Brazil also
deserve to have time to live.”
Many senators chanted Lula's name after the vote, while Bolsonaro
supporters quickly left the chamber.
“Didn't I say this was going to work?” Davi Alcolumbre, the president of
Brazil's Senate, told a leading senator of Lula's Workers' Party after
the result. He timed the decision to take place between the first and
the second round of the election, which benefits the incumbent.
Recent polls indicated widespread support for the measure, despite the
opposition of many business owners. Many Bolsonaro allies said in their
remarks they see the cost of living going up because of the new
schedule.
Brazil's president using government tools to reach out to voters
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 cellphones around prisons, and a boost in payments of a
welfare program for university students.
[to top of second column] |
Supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is
running for reelection, stand on a dumpster during a rally ahead of
the presidential runoff election, in Rio de Janeiro,Wednesday, Oct.
14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
 The change in the workweek system is
regarded as the pinnacle of those initiatives.
Bolsonaro, who bested Lula by 2.2 million votes in the first-round
election, reversed his long-standing opposition to the measure on
Tuesday. 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.
Hours after announcing his support for the change, Bolsonaro told
business owners that the new Congress, where his party could reach a
simple majority with other allied parties come February, could
review the measure, local newspaper O Globo reported.
The approval of the reduced workweek was a theme in dozens of
pro-Lula protests taking place nationwide since last week. Some
celebrated the Senate vote on Wednesday in streets of Rio de Janeiro
and Sao Paulo.
“We needed the people out on the streets,” said Lunna Normande, 23,
during a protest with hundreds of people in Rio. “We will continue
to be on the streets until this inhumane work week ends.”
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.
___
Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.
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