While on the campaign trail in 2022, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made it clear he wanted to take on gig work platforms. “We’re not against someone working [by] delivering food on a bike,” said Lula during a union event in April of that year. “What we’re against is them not being respected as workers. We’re against them not having rights.” As president, he vowed he would establish regulation to give the workers “a minimum of social security.”
A few months after he was sworn in, Lula called together labor groups, representatives for gig work platforms, and government officials to create a working group that would craft new rules for the industry — the first step in making good on his promise. But barely a year after winning the presidency, the dream of gig work regulation in Brazil may be slipping away.
