The group of senators closest to President Lula () is looking for a way to postpone the vote on the project that reduces the sentences of those convicted in the coup plot process and benefits former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) until 2026.
The discussion marks a new dispute between this sector and the president of , (União Brasil-AP), who expressed his desire to put the project into deliberation as soon as possible — and, initially, directly in the plenary, skipping the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee).
Alcolumbre and the government have been having an agreement from the attorney general of the Union, to the (Supreme Federal Court) instead of the senator (-MG).
Senators close to the president of the Senate say he wants to put the project to a vote to end discussions around the amnesty to start the year 2026 with other issues on the radar.
At the same time that his allies try to postpone the deliberation of the proposal by the Legislature, .
One of the main beneficiaries of the project is Bolsonaro, who was involved in a coup attempt. The text could. This period is currently estimated at 6 years and 10 months to around 8 years. The project could be reduced to 2 years and 4 months.
Furthermore, the text would enable the immediate release of people who were sentenced to lesser sentences in the coup plot process.
(10). Even before approval, Alcolumbre said he had committed to . Now, even those around him find it difficult for this schedule to be adhered to.
The idea of the president of the Senate was to promote the deliberation of the project directly in the plenary, in an express procedure. The maneuver was made impossible by the president of the CCJ, (PSD-BA). Otto made a tough statement defending that there should be prior analysis by the commission and was supported by several influential senators.
“President, will you deliberate this year? Leave there, come here and vote? Allow me to disagree, because it’s not possible that it won’t pass the Constitution and Justice Committee. It’s been a long time, months, there [na Câmara]. Are you going to get here and vote immediately?” he said on Tuesday (9).
The proposal should begin to be discussed at the CCJ next Wednesday (17). It is necessary for the project to be voted on the same day by the commission so that Alcolumbre’s wishes are fulfilled, but regimental maneuvers can be used to try to postpone the deliberation.
The government leader in Congress, senator (PT-AP), said that there will be a request for a review of the project – that is, more time for analysis. If government officials manage to postpone the vote for a week, the most common deadline for requests for review, it would only be released on the 24th. As the Senate will already be in recess on this date, the vote would have to be held until next year.
“Visa can be granted for two hours, or four hours, it could be for another week. Then you won’t be able to vote this year, it would be until after the recess”, stated the president of the CCJ.
He also declared himself against reducing sentences: “I thought I shouldn’t change anything at all, but I surrender to what the majority decides.”
On Wednesday, the president of the CCJ. Amin is a traditional right-wing senator who has moved closer to Bolsonarism in recent years.
The senator now faces the risk of losing the group’s support in his quest for re-election in Santa Catarina in 2026 — which should have the former president’s son competing for one of the seats in the state.
He stated that it was and said that granting it or not would be a political decision by the Legislature. Reporting on the sentence reduction project could help boost Amin’s popularity among the large Bolsonarist electorate in Santa Catarina. The agenda is dear to this political group.
On Wednesday, the minister (Secretariat of Institutional Relations) sought out ministers and party leaders questioning the vote of her fellow deputies in favor of the proposal that benefits Bolsonaro.
There were protests by government supporters against the project in the Senate throughout Wednesday. The leader of the PT in the Senate, Rogério Carvalho (SE), for example, linked the reduction of sentences to the presidential pre-candidacy of (PL). He also mentioned the governor of , (Republicans).
“All this seems to me, I can’t accuse, that it is to respond to a pre-candidacy by Tarcísio de Freitas and someone withdraws the candidacy in exchange for the dosimetry, the amnesty”, said Carvalho, referring to the fact that Flávio had said that he could withdraw from the candidacy.
The sentence reduction project was blocked for months in the Chamber because Bolsonarists were pressing for a complete amnesty. The proposal only advanced when PL, Bolsonaro’s party, decided to support it. This support came after the launch of Flávio Bolsonaro’s pre-candidacy for president.
