If the veto is overturned, former president Jair Bolsonaro could benefit and have his sentence reduced
The president of the National Congress, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), called for April 30 session to analyze the presidential veto to bill no. 2,162/2023, the so-called Dosimetry PL. The text proposed reduction of sentences for those convicted of the acts of January 8including former president Jair Bolsonarosentenced to 27 years and three months for coup d’état. Now, the Legislature will decide whether maintain or overturn the veto.
In January, the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) completely rejected the PL. Through a message sent to Congress, the head of the Executive argued that the reduction of penalties “would represent not only the impunity based on individual interests, but also the threat to the legal system and to all system of fundamental guarantees”.The federal government evaluate that the bill is unconstitutional and contrary to the public interest.
To reverse the presidential veto, 257 votes are needed in the Chamber of Deputies and 41 in the Senatein a joint session. If this support is obtained, the President of the Upper House of Congress may promulgate the text, if the head of the Executive abstains. The project comes into force afterwards.
Nonetheless, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) can annul the PL. Once promulgated, parties, class entities, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) or the government itself may challenge the validity next to the Court. Therefore, it is up to ministers to judge whether the standard respects the Constitution.
What does the Dosimetry PL say?
determines that the crimes of attempting to end the Democratic Rule of Law and coup d’étatwhen practiced in the same context, will result in use of the most serious penalty instead of the sum of both penalties.
It was also established reduction of the time for progression of the prison regime. This means that the convict must have good behavior and serve at least 16.6% of the sentence to progress from the closed to the semi-open regime or from the semi-open to the open regime.
Another definition was reduction of sentence from one third to two thirds in cases where the infractions occur in crowdsbut the defendant cannot have played a leadership role or financed the acts.
In addition to Bolsonaro, can benefit from the PL the former Minister of the Civil House, Walter Braga Netto; the former Minister of Defense, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira; the former Minister of Justice, Anderson Torres; the former head of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), Augusto Heleno; the former Navy commander, Almir Garnier.
Everyone joined the call core 1 during trials in the First Panel of the STF. The group would have central role in the scheme that, in addition to the coup d’état, planned the assassination of Lula, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) and minister Alexandre de Moraes.
