by Jack Diffley
Despite President Lula’s expected veto, a conservative-led Congress has approved legislation reducing Jair Bolsonaro’s 27-year sentence for his role in a failed coup — sparking fears of renewed impunity in Brazil.
Brazil’s Congress has voted to significantly reduce the prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro, less than a year after his conviction for orchestrating an attempted coup following the 2022 elections. The bill, which passed both the lower house and the Senate, now awaits President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision — though any veto appears likely to be overridden by the right-leaning legislature.
Bolsonaro, sentenced to over 27 years for charges including “attempted coup” and “violent abolition of the democratic rule of law,” would see his prison time slashed due to a provision that merges overlapping charges and applies only the longest sentence. Legal analysts suggest his minimum time in a closed prison regime could drop from six years to just over two, pending sentence reductions for good behaviour or educational activities.
The controversial legislation comes amid Lula’s pledge to defend democratic accountability. The leftist president — himself the target of an assassination plot tied to the 2023 coup attempt — has signaled his intention to veto the bill. However, with Congress dominated by conservatives sympathetic to Bolsonaro, many expect the veto to be swiftly overturned.
Though far short of the full amnesty sought by Bolsonaro and his allies, the bill was welcomed by his family. “It wasn’t exactly what we wanted … but it’s what was possible,” posted Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son and a likely challenger to Lula in the 2026 election.
The decision also benefits Bolsonaro’s close associates, including top military officers convicted alongside him, as well as hundreds of participants in the violent storming of government buildings in Brasília on January 8, 2023. Critics argue the bill undermines Brazil’s efforts to hold anti-democratic actors accountable.
Political analyst and journalist Miriam Leitão described the move as a blow to Brazil’s democratic reckoning. Writing in O Globo, she warned the bill risked reviving a “historic cycle of impunity,” adding, “2025 was set to go down in history as the year Brazil punished coup plotters — now that milestone may slip away.”
Opinion polls suggest the majority of Brazilians oppose the sentence reductions, underscoring the divide between public sentiment and congressional action. As Brazil prepares for the 2026 election cycle, the political rehabilitation of Bolsonaro — even partially — signals a turbulent path ahead for its democracy.
(Associated Medias) – all rights reserved
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