The Brazilian President announced this Thursday, December 18, that he will veto the law approved on Wednesday that would reduce the prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of an attempted coup d’état.
“When it reaches my desk, I will veto it. It’s no secret to anyone”said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at a press conference in Brasília, capital of Brazil, a few hours after the Senate gave the ‘green light’ to the proposed law approved last week by the Chamber of Deputies.
The former head of state was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup d’état, and could see his sentence reduced to just over two years if the new law is applied. Bolsonaro began serving his sentence at the end of November at the Federal Police facilities in Brasília.
“I have the right to veto and then they [Congresso Nacional] have the right to cancel or not. That’s how it works”recognized Lula.
The new text also provides for the granting of parole to dozens of supporters convicted of the riots on January 8, 2023 in the capital.
Thousands of Bolsonarists invaded the National Congress, the presidential palace and the Federal Supreme Court, demanding military intervention to remove Lula from power.
In September, after a historic trial, Jair Bolsonaro was found guilty by the Federal Supreme Court of being the leader of a “criminal organization” that conspired to keep him in power despite his defeat in the 2022 presidential elections.
According to the accusation, this project, which predicted Lula’s assassination after his election in the second round, failed due to a lack of support from the high military command.