Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, greets supporters as he campaigns ahead of the upcoming presidential runoff election in the Ceilandia neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo)
Brazil's Senate has approved a shorter workweek, one of the measures President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is counting on to close the gap with right-wing rival Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of the Oct. 25 runoff.
The measure, which the government has been pushing for months, provides for two paid days off a week instead of the current one and reduces the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours.
The bill targets working-class Brazilians, who have historically formed Lula's electoral base. Millions of Brazilians currently work six days a week, a schedule known as "6x1."
The reduction will be phased in over the next 14 months.
The vote completes the legislative process for the measure, which had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
The constitutional reform passed the Senate with 75 votes in favor and just one against.
Passage of the measure was one of the demands at recent mass demonstrations in support of the leftist Lula's reelection bid against the son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who had called the proposal "opportunistic," ultimately voted in favor.
