Many in the US and elsewhere are clamoring for a four-day workweek. Brazil's president is pushing for a more modest reduction in his country: to a five-day week. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is backing a bill to cut Brazil's legal workweek from 44 to 40 hours with no pay reduction, a move his government says would effectively end six-day schedules for nearly 15 million formal workers and eventually benefit 37 million people, reports the Financial Times. The proposal aims to guarantee two days off and end the traditional "6x1" week.
Latin America tends toward long workweeks, with workers in Brazil typically logging about 2,000 hours a year—compared to 1,700 in the US and 1,400 in Germany, notes Semafor. But the timing is political and the path uncertain. Lula, 80, faces a tight reelection race later this year against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and is seen as using the reform to reconnect with his working-class base. Business groups warn the change will raise labor costs, curb hiring, and potentially fuel inflation. Conservative lawmakers, who have blocked several Lula priorities, could stall or sink the bill—though even failure might give him a campaign talking point.
Separately, Lula met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday, with both leaders offering generally positive assessments of the talks, notes the New York Times. "I leave the US with an important step forward in consolidating the democratic and historical relations with the US," Lula told reporters. Few details were released.
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