President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Thursday that he will veto the Dosimetry bill, which reduces sentences for those convicted of the coup plot and would even benefit former president Jair Bolsonaro. The text was approved by the Senate the day before in yet another defeat for the government in Congress.
— If there was an agreement with the government, I was not informed. If the president was not informed, there was no agreement — said Lula.
The president defended punishment for those involved in the coup plot and said that it is necessary to wait for the criminal action to end.
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— People who committed crimes against Brazilian democracy will have to pay for the acts committed against the country. (…) With all the respect I have for the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it. This is no secret to anyone. We have not yet reached the end of the process, we need to know who the financiers are — said Lula.
In the Senate, the project that benefits the coup plotters was approved by 48 votes to 25. The text changes the rules for the dosimetry of sentences, that is, the calculation of prison time and regime progression for those convicted.
Lula has a deadline of 15 working days to sanction or veto the project, but as the parliamentary recess begins next week, this gives the president until February to veto the proposal. The Senate will then deliberate on the veto. To overturn Lula’s veto, an absolute majority of senators is required, that is, at least 41 votes.
— Congress has the right to do things, I have the right to veto and they can override my veto. That’s how the game works — Lula highlighted.
Yesterday, the leader of the government in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) stated that he had reached a procedural agreement to allow progress in the processing of the Dosimetry PL, taking personal responsibility for the articulation, after the minister publicly denied the existence of any negotiations involving the project.
In return, he sought support to speed up the processing of a project of interest to the economic team that cuts tax incentives and increases taxation on bets, fintechs and interest on equity, which was also approved by the Senate.
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After the Dosimetry project was approved by the Senate, the Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, criticized Wagner’s performance. She also announced that Lula will veto the initiative. In response, the senator indicated that the minister conducts “a shallow and superficial debate”.
“The reduction in sentences for Jair Bolsonaro and other coup plotters, approved this evening in the Senate, is disrespectful to the STF’s decision and a serious setback in the legislation that protects democracy. The handling of this issue by the government leadership in the Senate at the CCJ was a regrettable error, contrary to the government’s guidance which was contrary to the proposal from the beginning. President Lula will veto this project. Those convicted of attacking democracy must pay for their crimes”, he said on social media.
Wagner complained that the divergence was handled by the networks:
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“It’s regrettable to surrender to shallow and superficial debate. It’s to dispatch government disagreements via social media.”
With approval, the PT and PSB filed a lawsuit with the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to have the measure overturned.
What does the project say
The project restricts the effects of the sentence reduction to crimes committed in the context of the coup acts of January 8, 2023. With this cut, an attempt was made to eliminate the risk that the proposal benefits those convicted of other crimes, such as coercion during the process and favoring prostitution. This was one of the main criticisms of the project when it was approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
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The text benefits Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years and three months. Currently, the former president would have to serve 5 years and 11 months in a closed regime. With the new calculation, the penalties for coup d’état and attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law would be absorbed. With this and the more generous rule for sentence progression, Bolsonaro would only spend 3 years and 3 months in a closed regime. This would allow the former president to be released from prison at the beginning of 2029 at the latest. The reduction could be even greater, reaching 2 years and 3 months, depending on the interpretation of the rule.
The Criminal Executions Law provides for regime progression for first-time offenders who committed a crime “without violence to the person or serious threat” after completing 16% of the sentence. When there are violent acts, this percentage increases to 25%. This is the case of the crimes for which Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The project allows the benefit of 16% for the former president and those convicted of the acts of January 8th.
