Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday vetoed a bill passed by Congress that would have reduced the 27-year prison sentence of the former head of state Jair BolsonaroThis text aimed to reduce the sentence handed down against the former far-right leader for plotting a coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
Adopted by parliament in December, the bill would have reduced Bolsonaro's prison sentence to just over two years. However, Congress retains the power to override the presidential veto, an option that could reignite political tensions in the country.
The controversial text did not only concern the former president. It also reduced the sentences of several people convicted of their involvement in the January 2023 riots, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed and ransacked the presidential palace, the Supreme Court, and Congress in Brasilia.
Following the violence, approximately 2,000 people were arrested. Several of them have since been convicted by the Supreme Court for attempted coup and other crimes, in events often compared to the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
At a ceremony held in Brasilia to commemorate the third anniversary of the failed coup attempt, Lula defended the firmness of the justice system. "All the coup plotters were tried in a transparent and impartial manner, and at the end of the trial, they were convicted based on solid evidence," he said.
The Brazilian president had already announced in December his intention to veto the bill. Jair Bolsonaro, for his part, began serving his prison sentence in November, while the debate over the severity of the sanctions continues to divide the Brazilian political class.
