Brazil’s Congress passes bill to cut Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison sentence
If successful, the legislation could see Brazil’s former president serve a little over two years in prison for coup plot
Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to slash the prison term of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting a coup after losing re-election to left-winger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Passed by the lower chamber last week, the bill now heads to Lula, whose expected veto could eventually be overridden by Congress.
Bolsonaro, 70, began a 27-year prison sentence in November, and under current rules was expected to serve at least eight years behind bars before becoming eligible for a looser regime.
The new legislation, which changes how sentences are calculated for certain crimes, could, however, see Bolsonaro serve a little over two years in prison.
Following months of jockeying by Bolsonaro’s supporters in Congress for some sort of amnesty, the bill moved surprisingly quickly through both the conservative-controlled lower chamber and the more balanced Senate.