Brazil Senate Approves Bill That Could Shorten Bolsonaro Prison Sentence

Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that could significantly reduce the 27-year prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a move that is likely to face opposition from the Supreme Court and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The bill, which passed the Senate by a 48–25 vote, was approved by the lower house last week and now heads to Lula, who has not said whether he will sign it into law or veto it. If enacted, the legislation could cut Bolsonaro’s sentence to just over two years.

The measure also provides sentence reductions for individuals convicted over their involvement in the January 2023 riots, when supporters of Bolsonaro stormed and vandalised Brazil’s presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress in Brasília.

“This is part of our path to peace, and we must all celebrate it,” Senator Esperidião Amin, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, said after the vote.

Bolsonaro began serving his sentence last month after being convicted of plotting a coup against Lula following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

An earlier draft of the bill, introduced by right-wing opposition lawmakers, proposed pardoning those involved in post-election “political demonstrations,” but its sponsor in the lower house ruled out granting full amnesty.

About 2,000 people were arrested following the Brasília attacks, which drew comparisons to the January 2021 assault on the US Capitol. Many have since been convicted by Brazil’s Supreme Court of attempting a coup and other crimes.

The Lula government has opposed the proposal. “Those who attacked democracy must pay for their crimes,” Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said in a post on X ahead of the vote.

Lula has said he would decide on the bill once it reaches his desk, adding that he would take “the best decision for Brazil.”

The legislation was amended earlier on Wednesday in a Senate committee to clarify that sentence reductions would apply only to crimes linked to the attempted coup, and not to unrelated offences. Amin said the change was a minor wording adjustment and did not require the bill to be returned to the lower house.