By Nitya Chakraborty
Just nine days before the Brazilian Presidential election run off on October 25, there seems a perceptible shift in the electoral mood of a major section of workers who voted for the far right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro in the first round of Presidential elections on October 4 this year.In that round Bolsonaro got 47 per cent, the ruling coalition candidate Lula 45.1 per cent , the right candidate Ronaldo Calado 2.1 per cent and another conservative anti-Left candidate Renan Santos 2.2 per cent.
So, soon after the October 4 elections, the general opinion of the seasoned political observers was that the incumbent Left wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Siva will lose in October 25 run off as the two anti-Left candidates support base should be voting for far right Bolsonaro. With Bolsonaro’s own 47 per cent , the total in run off should come to 51.3 per cent, much above Lula’s expected percentage.
But the political and electoral situation started shifting from early this week after Brazil’s congress approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that may lead to a political victory to the leftist president Lula ahead of the presidential run off on October 25.
In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment, which will give some workers an extra day off each week. This move of President Lula should have positive impact on a large number of workers who voted against him in October 4 elections. Bolsonaro has always opposed this pro-worker bill but at the last moment, taking into account that even his supporters are supporting the Bill in the congress, Bolsonaro voted for the bill..
The constitutional amendment bans six-day workweeks, currently worked by 16 million people, while cutting the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours for more than 30 million workers.
The change is expected to affect mainly workers in retail, restaurants and hotels, most of them low-paid – one of the groups which Lula lost the most support from since the 2022 election, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro. In the last four years, Lula has implemented a number of pro people programmes but the Left could not bring back the disenchanted section of the workers to the polling booth on October 4 in support of Lula. This section will be highly benefited as a result of the constitution amendment bill and that should have deep impact on October 25 run off in favour of Lula.
Lula celebrated the amendment’s passing, writing on social media “ending the 6×1 schedule is about more than changing working hours. It means more time to live, rest, be with family, watch your children grow up, look after yourself and enjoy life.” The movement for a 40 hour week began with the campaign called Life Beyond Work promoted by a pharmacy assistant who got support from the Left coalition and later became close to the President.
Ever since the October 4 first round, President Lula has been intensely active in social media and in public rallies calling for more reliefs to the vulnerable sections of the Brazilian population. Lula also continued announcing benefits just days before the vote, including debt relief for microentrepreneurs, and published a letter to evangelical Christians – who have historically favoured Bolsonaro – stressing his commitment “to ensuring that everyone has two days off a week, because life is not just about work”.
After the passing of the bill in the senate, the Left coalition campaigners are covering all possible areas to convey the message of the bill and how the present President has worked hard to pass it in the congress. In Latin America, the electoral mood is favouring right in the last two years. In the recent period, the Left lost power in Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and before that in Argentina. Brazil is the largest economy of Latin America. President Lula is known as the icon of the continents’ Left. So retaining power in Brazil has become a supreme necessity for the Brazilian Left. October 25 run off results will show whether the Left’s latest initiatives have borne fruits. (IPA Service)
