Lula announces he will veto law reducing Bolsonaro's prison sentence
The leftist leader's veto could, however, later be overruled by the conservative-majority Congress.
Lula announces his candidacy for 2026
(AFP) Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Thursday that he will veto a law passed by the Brazilian Congress that could reduce the 27-year prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup.
"When it reaches my desk, I will veto it," Lula said at a press conference in Brasilia, the day after the Senate gave the green light to the measure. However, the veto from the left-wing leader could later be overruled by the Congress, which has a conservative majority.
Bolsonaro was sentenced in September by the supreme court to 27 years in prison for allegedly trying to prevent Lula from coming to power in 2022. With the new rule, his effective prison time, currently calculated by the justice system until 2033, could be reduced to just over two years.
Possible parole for hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters
The bill was surprisingly processed in one week by both chambers of Congress, just before the Christmas recess. The initiative benefits Brazil's biggest right-wing leader, 70 years old, incarcerated since late November in federal police quarters in Brasilia.
But it may also grant conditional release to more than a hundred Bolsonaro followers imprisoned for the Jan. 8, 2023, uprising in Brasília, a week after Lula's inauguration.
Bolsonaro remains in a small cell awaiting hospitalization
His lawyers asked last week that the former president be moved to the hospital quickly to undergo two surgeries, to treat inguinal hernias. 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 surgeries.
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