Many US media outlets think the fight is over in Brazil, but it is far from over here; Lula is nearly tied in the polls and has a lot ahead of him.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the signing ceremony for the decree regulating the Legal Framework for the Electronic Games Industry in Brasilia on October 14, 2026.
(Photo by Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
Mike Elk
Oct 17, 2026
Payday Report
Greetings from Rio de Janeiro, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is mounting a hell of a comeback after achieving the Workers’ Party’s 40-year goal of shortening the Brazilian workweek from six to five days.
Now, polling shows Lula is back in the fight, even as US media ignores it.
Greetings from Rio de Janeiro, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is mounting a hell of a comeback after achieving the Workers’ Party’s 40-year goal of shortening the Brazilian workweek from six to five days.
Now, polling shows Lula is back in the fight, even as US media ignores it.
Polls Show Brazilian Presidential Race Tied
Following the first round of the election, where Lula trailed Flávio Bolsonaro by 1.8%, many wrote off Lula’s campaign. However, in the past week Lula has pulled off an impressive series of street mobilizations that have rocked the Brazilian presidential race, with over 1 million marching on Copacabana Beach on a Monday afternoon when Lula wasn’t even there.
With more than 38 million Brazilians not voting in the first round of the presidential election and Bolsonaro only leading by 2 million votes in the first round, many Bolsonaro allies worry that the scale and magnitude of Lula’s rallies could inspire massive Get Out the Vote efforts throughout the country.
The mobilizations helped create the energy that led the Brazilian Congress to pass a measure shortening the Brazilian workweek from six days to five Wednesday. This may now create enough energy to help Lula win the presidency.
Various polls this week have shown the race nearly tied.
A new PoderData poll shows Lula and Bolsonaro tied, with a little over a week until election day. Yet another poll released by Real Big Time Data shows that Bolsonaro is only leading by 1%. A third poll by CNT and MDA shows Bolsonaro at 50.5% while Lula has 49.5%
Bolsonaro Party Leader Worries About Mass Lula Mobilizations
With more than 38 million Brazilians not voting in the first round of the presidential election and Bolsonaro only leading by 2 million votes in the first round, many Bolsonaro allies worry that the scale and magnitude of Lula’s rallies could inspire massive Get Out the Vote efforts throughout the country.
In an audio message sent to party insiders, top Bolsonaro ally Congressman Gustavo Geyer said that he was worried about the potential of the street protests to mobilize the vote for Lula.
In the audio message, Geyer complained at length about the 4 million-strong WhatsApp group “Lula’s Army.” Previously, a Bolsonaro-appointed Supreme Court Justice, Kassio Nunes Marques, blocked the WhatsApp group for several hours before being overruled by other members of the Brazilian Supreme Court.
“The campaign of electoral terrorism that Lula and the PT [Workers’ Party] are conducting in a criminal manner—that ‘Lula’s Army’ channel, created by that ‘Rachadones’ character—is truly managing to mobilize the left in a way we have never seen before,” said Guyer. “The demons of Workers’ Party have crawled out of the catacombs of hell and are genuinely making an impact on the tracking polls.”
Lula Shortens Brazilian Workweek With Only One Vote Against
For nearly 40 years, the Workers’ Party has tried and failed to shorten the Brazilian workweek from six days to five. But this week, Lula pulled off a stunning victory when the Brazilian Senate voted to shorten the Brazilian workweek while not decreasing the pay of workers.
Only one senator voted against the measure, and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro skipped the vote rather than vote against it.
Brazilian labor leaders say that the success of the vote proves the momentum their campaign is having in the streets.
“The Bolsonaro family lost,” said Miguel Torres, the president of the Força Sindical labor federation. “It’s a victory for workers.”
Bolsonaro Wants Supreme Court to Silence Unions
Fearing attacks from unions, Flavio Bolsonaro went to the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Tribunal, part of the Brazilian Supreme Court, this week to ask it to silence union attacks against him on social media.
Bolsonaro’s lawsuit names 56 people, mainly union leaders and student leaders. Flavio wants the court to block these individuals from using their institutional channels to promote Lula.
“This offensive doesn’t just target Lula’s campaign. It’s directed against public participation, against the right of citizens to organize, express support, and criticize a candidacy,” said André Matheus, a specialist in freedom of expression and vice-president of the Lawfare Commission of the Institute of Brazilian Lawyers (IAB).
For more, check out ICL Noticias.
Help Cover Lula’s Comeback Fight
Many US media outlets think the fight is over in Brazil, but it is far from over here. Lula is nearly tied in the polls and has a lot ahead of him. We’ve got nine days left, and Payday intends to cover the tough fight ahead.
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Mike Elk
Mike Elk is the senior labor reporter at Payday Report and member of the Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild. He previously served as senior labor reporter at POLITICO and at In These Times Magazine.
Full Bio >
Lula Celebrates End of Brazil’s 6-Day Work Week, Fulfilling Key Pledge Ahead of Election
“Those who work so hard to build Brazil also deserve having time to live.”
Brad Reed
Oct 15, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated on Wednesday night after Brazil’s legislature overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to end the country’s six-day work week.
Under the amendment, which Lula has made a central plank of his reelection campaign, the work week will be shortened to 40 hours without a salary cut.
The amendment is projected to give an extra day off to millions of workers who previously had to work for six days under the old 44-hour work week.
In a Wednesday social media post, Lula celebrated the amendment’s passage as “an historic achievement for millions of workers.”
The Brazilian president said the shorter work week will mean “more time to live, rest, be with family, be with children as they grow, take care of yourself, and enjoy life.”
“Those who work so hard to build Brazil also deserve having time to live,” Lula added.
Polls show that Lula is currently locked in a tight race against rival Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is still serving a criminal sentence for efforts to instigate a coup after his loss in the 2022 election.
According to a Wednesday report in The Guardian, the shortened work week could give Lula a boost among key demographics ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff.
Specifically, The Guardian noted that “the change is expected to affect mainly workers in retail, restaurants, and hotels,” which were “one of the groups which Lula lost the most support from since the 2022 election, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro.”
Victor Escobar, a researcher at the Laboratory of Parties, Elections, and Comparative Politics, told The Guardian that the amendment’s passage “could indeed benefit Lula’s reelection campaign.”
Polls show that ending the six-day work week is overwhelmingly popular with Brazilian voters and Bolsonaro recently came out in its favor after months of signaling opposition.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated on Wednesday night after Brazil’s legislature overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to end the country’s six-day work week.
Under the amendment, which Lula has made a central plank of his reelection campaign, the work week will be shortened to 40 hours without a salary cut.
The amendment is projected to give an extra day off to millions of workers who previously had to work for six days under the old 44-hour work week.
In a Wednesday social media post, Lula celebrated the amendment’s passage as “an historic achievement for millions of workers.”
The Brazilian president said the shorter work week will mean “more time to live, rest, be with family, be with children as they grow, take care of yourself, and enjoy life.”
“Those who work so hard to build Brazil also deserve having time to live,” Lula added.
Polls show that Lula is currently locked in a tight race against rival Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is still serving a criminal sentence for efforts to instigate a coup after his loss in the 2022 election.
According to a Wednesday report in The Guardian, the shortened work week could give Lula a boost among key demographics ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff.
Specifically, The Guardian noted that “the change is expected to affect mainly workers in retail, restaurants, and hotels,” which were “one of the groups which Lula lost the most support from since the 2022 election, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro.”
Victor Escobar, a researcher at the Laboratory of Parties, Elections, and Comparative Politics, told The Guardian that the amendment’s passage “could indeed benefit Lula’s reelection campaign.”
Polls show that ending the six-day work week is overwhelmingly popular with Brazilian voters and Bolsonaro recently came out in its favor after months of signaling opposition.
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