Brazil’s Congress voted on April 30 to override President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s veto and adopt a bill that would allow former President Jair Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison sentence to be reduced.
Bolsonaro, 71, was jailed in September 2025 for plotting a coup in January 2023, after he narrowly lost the election to Lula.
He was convicted of all five charges, including attempting a coup, participating in an armed criminal organization, attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence, and deterioration of listed heritage.
Lawmakers passed a bill in December 2025 that reduces prison terms for several crimes, including convictions for attempting a coup and seeking to overturn the democratic rule of law. It proposes that prison terms should be based on the charge with the highest sentence.
In January, Lula, 80, vetoed the bill.
Bolsonaro began serving his sentence in November, but was later released and is currently under house arrest.
Bolsonaro supporters expressed confidence in the outcome before the voting began on Thursday. The conservative opposition successfully drew centrist senators and federal deputies to comfortably override Lula’s veto.
Sen. Espiridiao Amin, a Bolsonaro ally, said, “This is a first and much awaited step by those who are afflicted. The next stage is full amnesty.”
Pedro Uczai, the Workers’ Party whip in Brazil’s lower house, said he would appeal to the Brazilian Supreme Court to annul the legislation, which he said was unconstitutional.
Lindberg Farias, a lawmaker from the Workers’ Party and a Lula ally, said it was “a day of infamy.”
“They want to release Bolsonaro, his jailed generals and stop federal police investigations that implicate them,” he said.
Alexandre Knopfholz, a Brazilian dispute-resolution lawyer, said that Bolsonaro “will not be automatically released” following the legislation, even if it is upheld by the Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro’s 45-year-old son, Flavio, will be one of Lula’s rivals in his bid for reelection.
During the vote, he said, “If it is God’s will, I will govern this country. I will hug you and take care of you, no matter what your political view is.”
The vote was the latest defeat for Lula, who on April 29 had his nominee for a Supreme Court seat rejected by the country’s Senate.
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in São Paulo, said, “This vote is another sign that Bolsonaro is not finished as a political actor, his son will be competitive against Lula.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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