Brazil approves a 40-hour week and two days off ten days before the runoff

Brazil's Senate approved a change to the maximum working week, reducing it from 44 to 40 hours without cutting pay. This reform, set to begin ten days before the presidential runoff, affects about 37 million formal-sector workers. The change, which Lula called a move to "live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow, take care of yourself," replaces the 6x1 schedule of six working days and one day off.

Bolsonaro, despite some reservations and support from his party, voted remotely for the measure. The only dissenting vote was from retired general Hamilton Mourão, who served as Bolsonaro's vice president. The reform, initially proposed by a TikTok video by Rick Azevedo, aims to alleviate worker exhaustion. Lula's campaign hopes this reform will help him overcome his nearly two-point deficit from the first round, in which Bolsonaro led with 47% and Lula 45%, according to the latest Quaest poll.