Betim, Brazil | Oct. 23, 2026, 5:40 p.m. ET | 6 min read

For nearly five decades, Betim, an industrial city with factories sprawled across rolling hills, embodied working-class aspirations in Brazil, which in turn undergirded the leftist political movement of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

But, when local Guilherme de Souza recently landed a job in machine maintenance at the Stellantis automotive factory on the edge of this industrial town, it was far from his dream job. Instead, he’s attending a night course, with plans to become an entrepreneur running his own car repair business – and most importantly, to work for himself.

His attitude reveals a shift in the demographic with whom the left built its success on promises of secure jobs and worker protections, especially in a place like Betim, which exploded due to factory work but now sees its community’s ambitions changing.…