The Ethics Council of the Chamber of Deputies filed this Wednesday (22). The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) has been in the United States since February, where he is sponsoring a lobby with North American authorities to take measures in favor of his father.
The Chamber body approved, by 11 votes to 7, Marcelo Freitas (União Brasil-MG), according to whom Eduardo’s actions are supported by the exercise of freedom of expression and parliamentary immunity, representing “political opinion in the context of international debates”.
The PT and left-wing parties said they will appeal the decision to the Chamber plenary.
Eduardo can still lose his mandate due to absences, but, according to the Chamber’s rules, .
The Council sent Eduardo’s advisors a link so that he could participate in the session via video conference, but Bolsonaro’s son did not respond to the invitation.
The decision that spares him was supported by the opposition and the center, which voted overwhelmingly for the filing.
Of the center and right-wing parties, only deputies Castro Neto (PSD-PI) and Ricardo Maia (MDB-BA) voted to continue the investigations against Eduardo.
“We are not going to try to judge a colleague based on ideological position. Our fellow deputy has the constitutional right [de imunidade] by his word, vote and opinion, wherever he is. He is a deputy from Brazil and must be respected in his opinions and words”, said deputy José Rocha (União Brasil-BA).
The representation for Eduardo’s loss of mandate due to breach of parliamentary decorum was presented by the PT under the argument that Bolsonaro’s son made repeated attacks on institutions, especially the STF (Supreme Federal Court), and worked with foreign authorities to embarrass Brazilian institutions.
Amid Eduardo’s movements, the government announced the tariff against Brazil, citing Bolsonaro’s case as one of the justifications, and punished members of the STF, and other Brazilian authorities based on the Magnitsky Law, which in theory allows the US government to apply economic sanctions and restrictions to foreign people and entities identified as involved in corruption or serious human rights violations.
The pela (Attorney General’s Office) is accused of appealing to the Trump administration to coerce Brazilian authorities into burying the case against (PL) pela.
“The parliamentary mandate is not a sacred cloak to commit a crime”, said Fernanda Melchionna (PSOL-RS) before the vote. “We are not discussing opinions. A federal deputy who should defend the interests of the Brazilian people has been on foreign soil for months receiving public money that is not in daycare centers or health centers. Furthermore, he is plotting against the interests of the Brazilian people.”
The PSOL, through deputies Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ) and Paulo Lemos (PSOL-AP), presented a separate vote on the rapporteur’s opinion, arguing that there is evidence of a breach of parliamentary decorum, such as the declaration that an amnesty for Bolsonaro was a condition for holding the 2026 elections.
The left-wing party’s position, however, was not accepted.
In April, the Chamber’s Ethics Council reported a report that recommended the revocation of the mandate of the federal deputy (-RJ) by (Movimento Brasil Livre).
Glauber and PSOL colleagues accused the former president of the Chamber (PP-AL) of being behind the articulation for the loss of his mandate, which Lira denies.
To effectively revoke Glauber’s mandate, the process needs to be approved in the House plenary by the absolute majority of deputies, 257, a vote that has not yet taken place.
