Project reduces penalties for those involved in January 8th and could benefit former president Jair Bolsonaro
Less than 24 hours after rejecting Jorge Messias’ nomination to the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Congress overturned the president’s veto this Thursday (April 30, 2026). (PT) to the Dosimetry PL (Bill). The score in the Chamber was 318 votes against and 144 in favor of maintaining the measure. In the Senate, 49 to 24, respectively.
The project, which reduces penalties for crimes of coup d’état and abolition of the rule of law, could benefit the former president (PL) and 849 others convicted of the extremist acts of January 8, 2023.
The dosimetry project was approved by the Legislature in December 2025. Lula signed the veto on January 8 of this year, at the ceremony that marked 3 years since the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers.
With the veto overturned, the project becomes valid. In total, 850 people have already been convicted of the extremist acts of January 8th. It will be up to Minister Alexandre de Moraes, responsible for executing the sentences, to interpret and apply the new rule.
ANTIFACTION PL
Initially, the proposal allowed for flexibility in sections of the Criminal Execution Law for broader crimes, such as criminal organizations, militias and heinous crimes.
To prevent the maintenance of the text from conflicting with what was already approved in the Antifaction PL –sanctioned in March–, the president of the Senate, (União Brasil-AP) proposed that only the excerpts that discussed the crimes of coup d’état and attempted abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law should be analyzed.
DOSIMETRY PL
The project establishes proportionality criteria for setting penalties for crimes such as criminal association, violent abolition of the rule of law and coup d’état. The proposal allows judges to consider the defendant’s degree of participation in coup acts when defining the sentence. Defendants with minor involvement in the crimes could receive milder sentences.
Critics claim that the text would act as a total amnesty. Defenders argue that the measure only establishes proportionality in convictions.
The coordination that resulted in the government’s setback had Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) as one of the protagonists. Over the last week, Flávio led the offensive against Messias at the CCJ and mobilized the conservative bench to ensure that Lula’s veto was overturned.
The objective is to use the result to reinforce the narrative of “political persecution” on social media and electoral platforms, attracting the vote of the average voter who views the severity of the January 8 convictions with skepticism.
In the days leading up to the vote, the Palácio do Planalto had already signaled that it would not make efforts to maintain the veto. It was an expired agenda. According to the Poder360Lula prioritized political capital in the frustrated attempt to approve Messias in the STF.
The president declared that he “did his part” by vetoing the text on January 8 of this year, on the 3rd anniversary of the attacks, fulfilling a symbolic promise to his electoral base.
