The president’s veto Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to Dosimetry PL (Bill) reignited the dispute between the opposition and the government base in National Congress on the topic.
Right-wing parliamentarians promise to work to overturn the presidential decision, while government allies mobilize to maintain the veto, which they classify as a victory for democracy.
In a symbolic way, Lula signed the veto during the ceremony that marked , when protesters invaded and vandalized the headquarters of the Three Powers in Brasília.
The gesture occurred amid pressure from sectors of the right for changes in the dosimetry of sentences, defended as a way of reducing punishments applied to those involved in attempted coups d’état, including the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), sentenced to more than 27 years in prison.
With the veto, the project returns to Congress, which will be able to decide whether to maintain or overturn the presidential decision. For the overthrow, at least 257 votes are needed in the Chamber of Deputies and 41 in the Senate.
If the veto is rejected, the text becomes valid after promulgation, which can be done by Lula himself or by the president of Congress, senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP).
Faced with this scenario, parliamentarians from both political camps have already started articulations. The senator and pre-candidate for President Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) stated that it will act to overturn the veto in the first session of Congress after the parliamentary recess.
“Lula does not want peace. What we are seeing is an open, selective and unfair political persecution. In the first session of the National Congress, we will work to overturn this veto”, wrote the senator on his profile on X (formerly Twitter).
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), claimed that the president already “knows that the veto will be overturned in the first session”. Representative Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ) classified the ceremony promoted by the government as “political theater” and reinforced that the opposition will work to reject the veto.
In addition, Representative Carol De Toni (PL-SC) of the Chamber and Senate, to try to convene a session of the National Congress in January aimed at analyzing the veto.
On the government side, the atmosphere is one of celebration. Parliamentarians allied with Lula claim that the veto guarantees the accountability of those who attacked democracy.
The PT leader in the Chamber, Lindbergh Farias (PT-RJ), announced mobilization to prevent the overturn of the presidential decision.
“History! Dosimetry vetoed! Now it’s up to us. Let’s mobilize the networks and the streets so that it isn’t overturned in Congress!”, wrote the deputy in X.
The deputy Carlos Zarattini (PT-SP) stated that the project would pave the way for impunity for coup plotters. “Those who attacked democracy must pay for their crimes,” he said.
According to a survey by AtlasIntel/Bloomberg, . Another 34% say they are in favor of the proposal.
Understand dosimetry
It proposes changes to the criteria used by the courts to calculate sentences for criminal convictions. Among the central points, the text changes the way sentences are added when the defendant is convicted of more than one crime committed in the same context, prohibiting this type of combination.
The proposal also provides for the application of the shortest possible prison time for regime progression in crimes against the Democratic Rule of Law, without considering the defendant’s recidivism or the use of violence and serious threats.
The text emerged as defended by the opposition for those convicted of anti-democratic acts, including Bolsonaro.
