Strengthening Social Rights: Lula and Mamdani Exchange Insights on Popular Supermarkets and 40-Hour Work Week

Original article: Supermercados populares y jornada de 40 horas: Lula y Mamdani cruzan experiencias para fortalecer derechos sociales

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani met to share government experiences aimed at enhancing social rights and improving the quality of life for the most vulnerable populations.

Through his social media, Lula announced that during the United Nations General Assembly, he presented the Brazilian initiatives in social inclusion, digital governance, education, housing, school meals, and health to the New York mayor. He also highlighted the policies spearheaded by the Workers’ Party governments, including the participatory budgeting implemented in major cities across Brazil.

During their discussion, both leaders agreed on the importance of defending multilateralism and the need to enhance international cooperation without subjugation, as expressed by Lula.

«We concurred on the necessity to prioritize vulnerable populations in public policy formulation, ensuring that the poorest are represented in the budget,» stated the Brazilian head of state.

«We also discussed the critical need to defend democracy and to combat extremism and misinformation worldwide,» added the progressive leader.

Popular Supermarkets and the 40-Hour Work Week

Another topic of discussion was the legislative proposal currently advancing in the Brazilian Congress to reduce the workweek and eliminate the so-called 6×1 shift, which mandates six days of work followed by one day off. This initiative, which is still awaiting Senate voting, aims to decrease the workweek from 44 to 40 hours and ensure two days off for workers.

«We also talked about the labor hour reduction proposal pending in the Brazilian Congress, aimed at ending the 6×1 shift, enabling workers to enjoy two days off each week,» Lula emphasized in a message posted on his social media account.

For his part, Mamdani shared New York’s progress in creating popular supermarkets, a project that is part of his agenda to tackle the high cost of living facing residents in the so-called ‘Big Apple.’

This exchange of management models allowed both officials to evaluate the impact of concrete strategies to address common issues.

At the conclusion of their meeting, Lula formally invited the New York mayor to visit Brazil, with a date to be arranged later by their respective teams.