Brazil Vote Tension Spurs Surge in On-the-Job Harassment Complaints
- Workers say employers pressuring them to back their candidate
- Brazilians will decide between Bolsonaro, Lula on Sunday
Jair Bolsonaro and Lula Inacio Lula da Silva
Photographer: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg
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Tensions from Brazil’s bitter presidential election are spilling into the workplace with a surge in complaints about employers threatening dismissal or blandishing gifts to influence votes.
Two days before the runoff between ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, the number of on-the-job complaints has surged to 2,076, more than eight times as many as during the 2018 balloting, according to Brazil’s Labor Prosecutor’s Office. Almost all of the allegations were made during the runoff phase of the campaign, which started in the first week of October.