Thousands of Brazilians protest against the project that seeks to reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence

São Paulo (EFE).- Thousands of Brazilians demonstrated this Sunday in several cities across the country against the bill advancing in Congress that seeks to reduce the sentences of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro and other participants in the coup attempts that occurred after the 2022 elections. Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, and São Paulo were three of the more than ten capitals in which protesters organized under the slogan ‘Congress, enemy of the people’ to protest; in some, they opted for walks and speeches during the morning, while in others, massive evening events took place, with the participation of important figures from Brazilian music and culture. In the São Paulo capital, the central event was concentrated in front of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), where the organizers unfurled a banner with the inscription “Bolsonaro to jail”, next to an image of the former president behind bars, and denounced the actions of the Legislative Branch, which prioritizes an agenda “far” from the people instead of “urgent” social issues. “They are there to defend the democracy of this country. And democracy belongs to everyone; it is not just for one part, it is not just for the evangelical party or the ‘X’ or ‘Z’ party. They are there in the name of the people who put them there. Therefore, they have to legislate for all of Brazil,” Ãgohó Ãkirê Pataxó told EFE. Legislators must remember that “they are there thanks to the vote of these people and that they harm us with that type of actions. And voting at dawn. Nobody who does something legal would do it at dawn, in secret,” said the 47-year-old woman.

The project approved in the Brazilian Chamber

The controversial project, approved in a rush during the early hours of the morning in the Chamber of Deputies, now goes to be discussed in the Senate and is seen by critics as a “light” amnesty, an attempt to drastically reduce the sentences for Bolsonaro and those involved in the attempted coup. Among them, the 70-year-old former president, sentenced by the Supreme Court to 27 years and three months in prison, who, according to the project’s own rapporteur, could leave the closed regime in just over two years.

Among other issues, the project seeks to prevent the accumulation of penalties for the crimes of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and of coup d’état, considering them similar criminal offenses.

Therefore, if it proceeds as it is, only the most serious penalty would be applied, which is that of a coup d’état (up to 12 years), eliminating the sum of the penalty for attempted violent abolition (up to 8 years). And it also allows for the faster progression from closed to 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. “Our lawmakers have never gotten up early to clean up their child who had wet the bed or to change a diaper. But to vote for something that goes against Brazil, they got up early, put on their suits, and did this disservice to our nation. It’s absurd,” declared Wadson Alonso, psychologist and public servant, to EFE during the demonstration.

The voices of Brazilian music say ‘present’

In Rio de Janeiro, the call-up was led by important names in Brazilian music, such as Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, and Gilberto Gil. It was Veloso, one of the most political figures in the country’s culture, who lowered the curtain before a crowd with ‘Alegria, Alegria’ (1967), and turned Copacabana beach, which was expected to be the scene of a protest, into a cultural act. The presentation of other figures in the Brazilian Popular Music (MPB) movement is expected throughout the afternoon, who, like Veloso, have publicly positioned themselves at the antipodes of the ultra leader’s Government throughout his term between 2019 and 2022.