The Chamber of Deputies approved, this Wednesday (10), the basic text of the project which replaces the broad amnesty and only provides for the reduction of the sentences of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and others arrested for participation in the attacks against the seat of Power on January 8, 2023.
The project, reported by MP Paulinho da Força (Solidariedade-SP), must still be adopted by the Senate. House Speaker Senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP) said the issue should be voted on later this year.
There were 291 votes in favor and 148 against. Highlights that may modify the text will always be analyzed.
When the urgency of the project was approved, in September, there were 311 votes in favor and 163 against (with 7 abstentions).
Bolsonaro’s PL voted for and accepted the reduced sentences, even though it insisted for months for a full pardon. The Lula government (PT) voted against, following the advice of Minister Gleisi Hoffmann (Institutional Relations). Government MPs presented a series of points of order to delay the vote.
The vote took place early in the morning, after a day of confusion in the House with the forced expulsion of deputy Glauber Braga (PSOL-RJ) from the plenary, who occupied the Council to protest his impeachment procedure. There have been attacks and restrictions on the press by the legislative police.
As shown LeafThe project will also impact other criminals, with faster progression of the regime for those convicted of coercion in the process, arson and resistance against public officials, among other crimes, according to a technical study carried out by three parties.
Left-wing deputies used the argument that the text would benefit organized crime to try to defeat it. In plenary, Paulinho denied: “The project only concerns January 8, there is no possibility that this text will benefit common crimes.”
This approval comes a few days after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) called for amnesty, saying he could give up running for president in exchange for his father’s pardon. House Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), however, said he had raised the issue of his own free will and should not respond to any requests.
The text could reduce the prison sentence of Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison in connection with the putsch plot, to 2 years and 4 months in closed regime, according to the rapporteur and opposition parliamentarians.
However, depending on the interpretation, the project could lead to a lesser reduction, between 3 years and 4 months and 4 years and 2 months under a closed regime. The level expected by the opposition will depend on the remission of the sentence, that is to say the reduction of the period of detention by Bolsonaro by working or studying.
With the current sentence, the time spent in closed regime is estimated between 6 years and 10 months to just over 8 years. In December, the Criminal Execution Court ruled that the former president should move to the semi-open regime on April 23, 2033, after almost eight years.
Justification of Bolsonarism since last year, the project of a broad amnesty was transformed into a reduction of sentences by Paulinho after an agreement involving the leadership of the Chamber, controlled by the centrao, and the STF (Federal Supreme Court). On the one hand, the center was opposed to the total pardon and the rapporteur, close to Alexandre de Moraes, did not want to confront the Supreme Court.
In his report, Paulinho cites Aristotle to assert that virtue consists of a golden mean and that balance is the hallmark of his text. From the podium, he delivered a calming speech.
Motta’s decision to direct the sentence reduction project this Tuesday (9) surprised the rapporteur and party leaders. The measure remained stuck in the House in an impasse — the PL insisted on a broad amnesty and the Senate showed no signs that it might next vote on the bill, problems that were overcome.
There was an agreement that Bolsonaro’s parliamentarians would not attempt, during the plenary vote, to transform the reduction of sentences into amnesty by presenting amendments or strong points.
Before the vote, Motta said that “the question of amnesty was resolved” and that only sentence reductions would be possible. The House Speaker said he wanted to end the year with a defined question.
According to his allies, Bolsonaro approved the reduction of sentences on Tuesday. The former president said the plan would not solve his problem, but would solve that of his supporters.
PL leader MP Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ) said the party would continue to insist on a full pardon, but only next year.
Sóstenes said that the Bolsonaristas are not satisfied, but they have decided to give in because the voting schedule until the end of the year is tight and, thanks to this measure, the January 8 prisoners could spend Christmas outside the prison.
“We will never abandon the amnesty, but the legislative calendar puts us under pressure. It is the possible measure at the moment so that families can spend Christmas with dignity at home,” he declared.
For PT leader Lindbergh Farias (RJ), Motta was influenced by Flávio. The senator, who launched a run for president last week, said he would drop out if there was an amnesty and the reversal of his father’s ineligibility. In an interview with LeafFlávio returns and says his candidacy is irreversible.
A majority force in the Chamber of Deputies, the centro reacted badly to Flávio’s candidacy, preferring Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and defends the reduction of sentences rather than amnesty. The senator’s speech was therefore considered blackmail by the politicians of this group.
Sóstenes, in the same line as Motta, also denied that the vote was linked to the senator’s statement. “It was his (Motta’s) personal decision, without any other circumstances. It has nothing to do with (Flávio) because we are not going to vote for amnesty. Senator Flávio’s condition was very clear: to vote for amnesty and have his father in the polls. What we are voting for here is a patch.”
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