The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil approves reducing the prison sentence for Bolsonaro’s coup to just over 2 years

The deputies supported, by 291 votes in favor, 148 against and one abstention, the measure that must now be discussed in the Senate and that may benefit Bolsonaro, sentenced in September by the Supreme Court to 27 years in prison for attempted coup d’état.

The project prevents the sentences of two of the crimes for which he was convicted from being accumulated the former president (2019-2022), the attempted violent abolition of the democratic State of law and the coup d’état.

By understanding that these are similar types, only the most serious penalty would be applied of the two, in this case that of a coup d’état, which provides up to 12 years in prison and that it would not be added to the penalty for attempted violent abolition, which provides for up to eight years in prison.

In addition, it is proposed to reduce the penalty from one third to two thirds when coup crimes are committed as part of a “crowd”, as happened in the assault by hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters on the headquarters of the Executive, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.

Finally, the project allows for faster progression from the closed to the semi-open regime for those convicted of these crimes after serving at least one sixth of the sentence or, in the case of violence, one quarter of it.

Two years in prison

According to the project’s rapporteur, deputy Paulo Pereira da Silva, Bolsonaro could leave the regime closed in just over two years.

Among the potential beneficiaries of the approved project are also the senior military officials and former ministers convicted for supporting the former president’s plans to remain in power despite having been defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the polls.

Deputy Pereira presented the initiative during the debate as a “reconciliation” measure that seeks to “correct the excesses” in the sentences imposed by the Supreme Court, but “without avoiding accountability.”

“This House is embracing the coup”he stated, for his part, Lindbergh Farias, leader of the deputies of the Workers’ Party (PT), Lula da Silva’s formation.

Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party initially sought a amnesty to completely annul the former president’s sentence, but that extreme was rejected by the majority of parties, including some on the right, and the ultras had to settle for a less ambitious version.

The leader of the ultra deputies, Sóstenes Cavalcantesaid during the debate that it was the “possible” text and that the former president supports it.

Pushing and struggling

Bolsonarism rejects that there has been a coup attempt, accuses the Supreme Court of having political motivations and has presented the January 8 assault as a simple act of vandalism.

The debate session was marked by moments of tension, with pushing and fighting between deputies and members of the legislative security body.

A left-wing deputy occupied the lower house presidency as a form of protest before being forcibly removed, while also The media were expelled from the plenary session.