Brazil Senate Votes to Reduce Bolsonaro's 27-Year Sentence for Coup Plot

BRASILIA, Dec 17 - Brazil's Senate has approved a bill that aims to reduce the prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year term. The bill, which was previously passed by the lower house, now awaits the decision of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has not yet indicated whether he will sign it into law or veto it. If signed, the measure could cut Bolsonaro's sentence to just over two years.

The legislation also introduces reduced sentences for individuals convicted of participating in the January 2023 riot, during which Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalized the presidential palace, Supreme Court, and Congress. This event drew comparisons to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

"This is part of our path to peace, and we must all celebrate it," said Senator Esperidiao Amin, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, following its approval in a 48-25 vote.

Bolsonaro began serving his sentence last month for allegedly plotting a coup against Lula after losing the 2022 election. The initial version of the bill proposed by right-wing lawmakers would have pardoned those involved in "political demonstrations" following Lula's victory, but the bill’s sponsor in the lower house ruled out granting full amnesty.

Approximately 2,000 people were arrested in connection with the Brasilia attack, and many have been convicted by the Supreme Court of attempting a coup and other crimes. The new bill modifies how sentences are calculated to prevent cumulative punishments for multiple offenses. It also offers reduced sentences for individuals who participated in acts within a crowd context, rather than as leaders or financiers.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son and a potential candidate for the 2024 presidential election, welcomed the bill’s approval in a short video posted on social media. He stated, "It wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it was what was possible within the current situation in Congress."

CHALLENGES ON THE HORIZON

Despite Lula’s silence on the bill, government ministers and lawmakers aligned with his administration have expressed strong opposition, suggesting that the president is likely to veto it. Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann stated, "The government is against this proposal... for reasons that are already known: those who have attacked democracy must pay for their crimes."

Lula had previously mentioned that he would wait for the bill to reach his desk before making a decision, adding that he would take "the best decision for Brazil." The bill underwent amendments during an earlier Senate committee vote to clarify that sentence reductions apply only to those involved in the attempted coup and not to other crimes.

Amin argued that the changes did not require the bill to return to the lower house, as they were minor adjustments to the wording. However, these modifications have raised concerns about potential legal challenges. Lindbergh Farias, the leader of Lula’s Workers’ Party in the lower house, stated he was prepared to take legal action against the bill.

"What is happening in the Senate is a shame," Farias said in a post on X shortly before the conclusion of the Senate vote, adding that he already had a request to appeal the bill in the Supreme Court.

(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello, additional reporting and writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Natalia Siniawski, Kylie Madry and Saad Sayeed)