Congress Promulgates Amendment Ending Brazil’s 6x1 Work Schedule

Overview

• The National Congress formally promulgated the constitutional amendment ending the 6x1 work rota on Friday, establishing two paid weekly rest days and a gradual reduction of the statutory workweek from 44 to 40 hours.
• President Lula used the promulgação ceremony and later campaign events to celebrate the change and warn voters that a Flávio Bolsonaro victory could reverse the reform.
• The amendment takes effect after publication in the official gazette with the first reductions expected about two months later and a full phase-in within roughly a year, while allowing negotiated adjustments for specific sectors.
• Recent polls from Datafolha and Quaest show a tight, technically tied second‑round race with Flávio slightly ahead and both campaigns escalating messaging on security, cost of living and corruption.
• Social‑media monitoring showed only a small improvement in Lula’s online image after the vote and the campaign now shifts to high‑visibility TV interviews and debates in the week before the runoff, events that could alter momentum.