The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved, in the early hours of this Wednesday (10/12), the bill on dosimetry, which recalculates and reduces the sentences of those convicted of crimes linked to the coup plot and the acts of January 8, 2023. The text is now submitted to the Federal Senate for analysis.
According to Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), the project will be discussed later this year.
“I made a commitment to the leaders and to Brazil that if the House deliberates on this issue, the Senate will deliberate on this issue (…) we will deliberate as soon as the House deliberates. This year later,” said Alcolumbre, in plenary session, Tuesday afternoon.
Alcolumbre’s speech indicates that the text should be voted on directly in plenary in the coming weeks, as the National Congress enters into parliamentary recess from December 23, in accordance with article 57 of the Federal Constitution.
In his speech, Alcolumbre defended “the updating and modernization” of the legislation on crimes against democratic institutions, which has addressed the issue since the beginning of the year.
“We must seek a middle ground to modernize the legislation, to fill the gaps in the law on abolition and crimes against the democratic rule of law (…) the right agreement is to update this law, which is treated in the House as a text called dosimetry,” he said.
Approval of the measure could benefit former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who would spend less time in the closed regime.
Alcolumbre’s statement surprised party leaders. In plenary, the president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), publicly expressed his disagreement and declared that the proposal must necessarily go through the collegiate body. The demonstration was accompanied by members of the government base of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Basic text approved by the Chamber
The approval of Bill 2162/23 in the Chamber of Deputies is a half-victory for Bolsonaro’s opposition, which voted in favor of the proposal but was until then trying to articulate a “broad and unrestricted” amnesty for Bolsonaro and the other convicts.
Faced with the lack of support on this issue, the opposition backed down and began to agree to debate a project that would only reduce the sanctions applied to those convicted. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), announced as his father’s candidate in the 2026 presidential election, even put his own candidacy as a bargaining chip for the text to be approved.
In September this year, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) sentenced Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and 3 months in prison for leading the coup plot. The former president has been detained at the Federal Police Superintendence in Brasilia since November 22. With the approval of the bill, it is expected that the former president will be imprisoned for a lesser period.
Understand the text
The PL Dosimetry, which had as rapporteur the deputy Paulinho da Força (Solidariedade-SP), modifies the rules of progression of the regime, a mechanism that allows convicts of good behavior to move to semi-open or open regimes.
The new legislation provides that progression takes place after serving a sixth of the sentence, and no more than a quarter. The change does not apply to cases such as heinous crimes or repeat offenders.
The surrogate also proposes ending the sum of sanctions for crimes against the democratic rule of law, such as attempted coup d’état and violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, which would directly benefit Bolsonaro.
Paulinho also determined that when these crimes are committed in a “crowd context,” that is, during a collective act, such as the January 8 attacks, the sentence can be reduced by one third to two thirds. This reduction is only valid if the person did not finance the act or play a leadership role – and would not reach Bolsonaro, designated by the STF as the leader of the coup attempt.
How can Bolsonaro benefit from it?
According to the rapporteur, in addition to reducing the time needed for the regime to progress, the project could also reduce the former president’s sentence.
The Criminal Execution Court estimated this month that Bolsonaro’s progression to semi-open status would take place on April 23, 2033, after about eight years of detention. Paulinho calculates that this period could fall to just over 3 years.
In an interview with Metropolisesin Igor Gadelha’s column, lawyer Celso Vilardi, who works for Bolsonaro’s defense, assesses in a preliminary analysis that the progression would only occur in four years.
The vote takes place after the day of confrontation in the House
The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), opened the session this Tuesday (12/9) even after the confusion caused by the forced dismissal of deputy Glauber Braga (PSol-RJ) from the Board of Directors.
Glauber announced that he would serve as Speaker of the House after Motta announced on Wednesday (10/12) the vote on revoking his mandate. The Legislative Police were called and dragged the deputy out of the plenary.
While Glauber presided, official House broadcasts were cut and staffers and journalists were blocked from accessing the plenary session.
The Psoloist deputy is the target of impeachment proceedings for having expelled an activist from the Free Brazil Movement (MBL) from the House in 2024. Glauber accuses the former President of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), of being the main author of the impeachment request. Glauber attributes this formulation to the recurring criticisms he has leveled at Lira, particularly regarding the execution of parliamentary amendments.
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