LatinNews Daily - 28 May 2026

*The lower chamber of Brazil’s congress passed a constitutional amendment proposal (PEC) to reduce the maximum working week from 44 to 40 hours, as well as mandating two days off per week. The PEC was approved yesterday by an overwhelming majority in two rounds of voting, passing the first vote by 472-22 and the second round by 461-19. It will now proceed to be reviewed in the senate. The text approved by deputies emerged from a combination of two other PECs drafted in recent years proposing similar measures: one PEC submitted by federal deputy Reginaldo Lopes, of the ruling left-wing Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), and another drafted by federal deputy Erika Hilton, of the left-wing Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL). Both these previous drafts proposed reducing the working week to 36 hours, and Hilton’s proposal called for a four-day working week. The labour reforms regarding working hours have also been a legislative priority for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking re-election in the presidential election this October, given popular measures such as this may boost his electoral prospects.

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