Brazil’s Congress forces early release for jailed Bolsonaro in major blow to Lula
Lawmakers override presidential veto to reduce 27-year sentence, signalling a shift in power five months before elections
Brazil’s Congress on Thursday overturned President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto of a law dramatically reducing the prison sentence of his arch-rival Jair Bolsonaro, the second major defeat for Lula in as many days.
Former president Bolsonaro, 71, was sentenced last year to 27 years behind bars for coup plotting over his attempt to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to Lula.
The left-wing Lula had attempted to block a subsequent push by the conservative-majority Congress to reduce Bolsonaro’s term to a little over two years.
But following a tense session marked by shouting and jeers from both sides, lawmakers on Thursday overrode his veto of a law changing how prison sentences were calculated.
The opposition carried the vote by a large majority of 318 to 144 in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 to 24 in the Senate.
Several lawmakers were seen celebrating in Congress, loudly chanting the word “freedom” – and the name of presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro, the imprisoned ex-leader’s eldest son.