Lula Vetoes Bill That Would Have Dramatically Cut Bolsonaro’s Prison Term

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday used his veto power to reject a congressional measure that would have sharply reduced the prison sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last year in a high-profile coup-plot trial.

The bill, approved by Brazil’s Congress late last year on the third anniversary of the January 8, 2023, Brasilia riots, would have shortened Bolsonaro’s 27-year sentence to just over two years and would also have benefited other defendants connected to the plot and more than 100 people jailed for their roles in the riots.

Authorities say thousands of Bolsonaro supporters ransacked government buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023 — scenes that drew comparisons to the 2021 US Capitol attack — and urged the military to remove Lula from office a week after he was inaugurated for a third term.

“January 8th is etched in our history as the day of our democracy’s victory,” Lula said at the presidential palace, one of the sites targeted by the rioters. He called the veto a defense of the democratic will expressed at the ballot box.

Standoff With Congress

Bolsonaro, 70, was jailed in November after being convicted of trying to remain in power in a landmark trial prosecutors say exposed an alleged plot to block Lula’s return to office following Bolsonaro’s narrow defeat in the divisive 2022 election. Prosecutors said the conspiracy included plans to assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, but that it faltered for lack of support from senior military officers.

Bolsonaro denies the charges and, along with some supporters including former US President Donald Trump, has described the prosecution as a political attack. His lawyers have appealed for house arrest on health grounds; Bolsonaro has endured serious health problems since a 2018 campaign stabbing and received hospital treatment last year for a hernia and recurring hiccups. He was recently examined after a fall in custody and doctors reported he was in good health.

Under current rules, Bolsonaro is expected to serve at least eight years behind bars. While Lula’s veto blocks the immediate effect of the congressional bill, Brazil’s legislature can still seek to override the veto by voting to reject it.

The dispute highlights Brazil’s continued political polarization and the tension between the presidency and a conservative-leaning Congress intent on reforms that could affect high-profile convictions.