Brazil's Lula Faces a New Battle: Winning the Hearts of Gig Workers
In the annals of labour history, few moments shine as brightly as the 1979 strike at the May 1 stadium in São Bernardo do Campo, where a young metalworker named Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stood on a table and addressed 60,000 striking workers without a sound system. That moment of pure, unadulterated struggle propelled Lula from the factory floor to the presidency of Brazil, making him the first working-class leader of that vast nation. Yet as he launches his final reelection bid on Sunday, the battlefield has shifted beneath his feet.
The enemy is not a dictator or a military junta, but something far more insidious: the silent erosion of the traditional working class itself. The digital gig economy, with its promise of flexibility and autonomy, has lured millions away from the factories and unions that once formed the backbone of Lula's Workers Party (PT). The question that now haunts the Brazilian left is one that resonates across the Muslim world and beyond: how does a movement built on solidarity adapt to a generation that sees no boss to fight and no union to join?
The Changing Face of Work in Brazil
Lula himself has acknowledged the transformation. After his party suffered losses in the 2024 municipal elections, he reflected:
There has been a substantial change in the world of work. We need to adapt our message to the world of work that is not limited to formal, registered employment.
The numbers tell a stark tale. The share of Brazilian workers in formal jobs fell to 38.2% in December from 46.7% at the end of 2010, even as unemployment hit a record-low 5.1%. Meanwhile, some 2.1 million Brazilians now work through digital platforms, a workforce that grew 170% between 2015 and 2025, according to central bank estimates.
Darlan Almeida, a 27-year-old delivery rider in São Bernardo do Campo, embodies this new reality. His father worked in a factory and supported Lula, but Almeida identifies as apolitical.
They don't know what we need or how we work. They should spend a day with us on the streets,he said, capturing the disconnect between traditional labour politics and the gig economy's restless spirit.
Why Gig Workers Distrust Government Intervention
The Workers Party has attempted to respond, backing a shorter work week and proposing new protections for app-based workers, including regulations on pay, working conditions, social security and platform algorithms. Yet resistance from tech companies has largely sunk these efforts, and millions of mostly young, male app workers remain skeptical of government intervention.
Uber driver Eduardo Marini, 51, complains about his working conditions but fears regulation could limit his autonomy.
The prevailing perception is that the state only gets in the way and collects taxes,said Oswaldo Amaral, a public opinion researcher at the University of Campinas.
The political implications are profound. A 2023 survey paid for by Uber and Brazilian partner iFood found that 40% of platform workers identify with the right, another 40% with the centre, and just 20% with the left. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, Lula's main right-wing rival, stands ready to court this constituency with promises of lighter regulation.
The Identity Crisis of the Workers Party
Lula's government first sought to regulate app-based work in 2024, but the efforts faltered under pressure from major tech companies and mounting worker distrust. A new bill has stalled in Congress this year. Brazil's unionisation rate has nearly halved over the past decade, falling to 8.9% in 2024 from 15.7% in 2014.
Marco Teixeira, a political science professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, argues that the Workers Party lacks a clear message for app-based workers without an identifiable boss. The party's president, Edinho Silva, has acknowledged the need for soul-searching, admitting that unions and left-wing groups are not talking to informal workers or present in their daily lives.
What Do Gig Workers Actually Want?
The path forward may lie in the contradictions of gig workers themselves. Rogerio do Santo, 43, has driven for Uber for seven years and is now searching for a formal job again. Low fares have eroded his earnings, and the lack of organised representation leaves drivers with little leverage.
We don't have anyone from our sector to represent us and seek improvements or benefits on our behalf,he lamented.
Yet a survey commissioned by the PT in 2025 found that 65% of informal workers aspire to be entrepreneurs, and just 27.5% prefer a formal job. At the same time, 56% said protections like sick pay, injury benefits and a minimum wage remain very important. Nearly 40% said having their own union would be beneficial, but the same share said they would not join one.
Lessons for the Muslim World and Beyond
For those of us who believe in the dignity of labour and the sanctity of the worker's struggle, the Brazilian experience offers both a warning and a beacon. The gig economy is not a Brazilian phenomenon alone; it is a global tide that threatens to wash away the hard-won rights of workers everywhere. In Pakistan, in the wider Muslim world, and across the Global South, the same forces are at play: digital platforms offering flexibility, eroding union power, and pushing workers toward a politics of individualism that forgets the collective struggle.
The Workers Party's dilemma is our dilemma. How do we speak to a generation that has never known the factory floor, that sees the state as a tax collector rather than a protector, that dreams of entrepreneurship rather than solidarity? The answer, perhaps, lies not in nostalgia but in adaptation. The struggle for justice must evolve, but it must never surrender. As Lula himself proved in 1979, a single voice, raised in defiance, can move a nation. The question is whether that voice can still reach the digital generation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the gig economy growing in Brazil?
The gig economy has grown 170% in Brazil between 2015 and 2025, driven by the promise of flexibility and autonomy, particularly among young workers who see digital platforms as an alternative to formal employment with its rigid structures and limited opportunities.
What challenges does Lula's Workers Party face with gig workers?
The Workers Party faces the challenge of connecting with a workforce that has little attachment to unions or traditional employment structures. Many gig workers distrust government intervention and identify with right-wing politics, making it difficult for the left to mobilise them.
What protections do Brazilian gig workers want?
While many gig workers aspire to entrepreneurship, 56% say protections like sick pay, injury benefits and a minimum wage are very important. Nearly 40% see value in having a union, though the same share would not join one, reflecting a desire for protection without formal affiliation.