Brazil: Congress approves law to reduce Bolsonaro's jail term
The text, adopted by the Senate after the approval of the Chamber of Deputies last week, could reduce the effective prison time of the former president to just over two years. Lula could veto the norm and says his predecessor "has to pay."
Jair Bolsonaro, in a file photo during his house arrest.
Brazil's Congress on Wednesday approved legislation to lower the 27-year prison sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been jailed since last month on coup-plotting charges. The text, adopted by the Senate after receiving approval from the Chamber of Deputies last week, could reduce Bolsonaro's effective prison time to just over two years.
The initiative benefits Brazil's biggest right-wing leader, 70, convicted in September after a controversial trial for trying to block President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's accession to power in 2022.
The vote could also grant conditional release to more than 100 imprisoned bolsonaristas over the Jan. 8, 2023, uprising in Brasilia, which took place a week after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration. The measure passed with 48 senators voting in favor and 25 against.
"It was not exactly what we wanted, but it is what was possible at this juncture"
"It wasn't exactly what we wanted, it wasn't what we were fighting for, but it's what was possible at this juncture," Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, who nominated him as candidate for the 2026 presidential election, said in a video.
The bill was surprisingly processed in one week by both chambers, in a victory for the conservative majority in Congress before the Christmas recess. The author of the bill, Congressman Paulinho da Força, defended the reduced sentences as necessary in a deeply polarized country.
With the current regulations, the justice system estimates Bolsonaro's effective prison term at about eight years. The new law could reduce it to about two years and four months by modifying the time of confinement for several crimes, including that of coup d'état.
Lula says Bolsonaro "has to pay" and is considering vetoing the law
Lula has said his predecessor "has to pay" the sentence imposed by the supreme court. The president can veto the law, but parliament can vote again to withdraw the veto.
"At least we managed to get those people (from the assault) out of jail, which is the most important thing at this moment," congratulated Senator Sergio Moro, Bolsonaro's former justice minister. His camp initially tried to promote a total amnesty.
Bolsonaro remains in a small cell awaiting the hospital
Since late November, Bolsonaro has been serving his sentence in a small room in a Brasilia police station. He was transferred there early, after burning the electronic anklet that controlled his preventive house arrest.
His lawyers requested last week that the former president be taken to the hospital quickly to undergo two surgeries, one to treat a recurring hiccup and another to repair an inguinal hernia. Bolsonaro has undergone several surgeries due to a stab wound he suffered during the 2018 election campaign.
The judge in charge of the case, Alexandre de Moraes, asked for additional examinations before deciding whether to authorize the interventions.
LATEST
