Scuffles in Brazil’s Parliament over a bill to reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence

São Paulo. – Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies experienced moments of tension this Tuesday, with pushing and shoving between deputies and members of the legislative security corps, following the presentation of a controversial bill that proposes to reduce the prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The project, presented by deputy Paulo Pereira da Silva, proposes to reduce the prison sentences imposed on all those convicted of the coup d’état plotted against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The legislator, known as ‘Paulinho da Força’, said that Bolsonaro’s sentence could be reduced from the current 27 years to 2 years in prison if the project is approved. After announcing the processing of the text, Congressman Glauber Braga, from the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), occupied the chair of the presidency of the lower house, protesting the “amnesty” project that “rewards the coup plotters”. The deputy was also protesting because the president of the lower house, Hugo Motta, admitted for processing a process that could lead to his dismissal for having pushed a rival politician.

Security removes Braga and journalists

Braga was forcibly removed by the security corps of the Chamber of Deputies, who also expelled the journalists from the plenary. After that scene, protests, shoves, and shouting continued in the corridors of the lower house between deputies and advisors in a heated atmosphere. Motta announced that the sentence reduction project will be voted on this Tuesday and criticized Braga for trying to “impede” the legislative work. In a social media message, Motta also said that he ordered an investigation into “possible excesses” in relation to the treatment given to the press covering the session. If the project is approved in the Chamber, before coming into force it must be voted on in the Senate, which will analyze it before the end of the year, as announced this Tuesday by the president of that body, Davi Alcolumbre. The sentence reduction project was presented two weeks after Bolsonaro began serving his 27-year prison sentence for leading the coup, which, according to the Supreme Court judges, was launched after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Last Friday, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, announced that he will run for president of Brazil in the 2026 elections, in which Lula will seek re-election.