Brazil’s legislative body successfully enacted a controversial sentencing reform law on Thursday after overriding a presidential veto, potentially affecting numerous individuals convicted in connection with the January 8, 2023 government building attacks in Brasília.
The legislation, which garnered 318 votes in the lower chamber and 49 in the upper chamber, surpassing the required absolute majority threshold, introduces significant modifications to how criminal penalties are calculated and enforced for specific offenses against democratic institutions.
Under the new framework, when coup d’état and violent abolition of democratic rule charges stem from the same incident, courts will apply only the more severe sentence with an enhancement ranging from one-sixth to one-half, rather than combining both penalties. Additionally, the law permits sentence reductions of one-third to two-thirds for attempted coup or attempted violent abolition of democratic governance when committed within a crowd setting, provided the defendant neither financed the actions nor held a leadership position.
The legislation’s passage represents a significant political development, as it could potentially affect high-profile cases, including that of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who received a 27-year and three-month sentence in September 2025 for five offenses related to attempts to maintain power following the 2022 election defeat. Legal experts note that defense attorneys must petition the judiciary for sentence reviews under the new provisions.
During the legislative session, supporters of the measure argued that existing sentences were disproportionate to the offenses committed. Senator Sergio Moro, a former judge who previously led major corruption investigations, expressed concern about what he characterized as excessive penalties for individuals involved in the January 8 incidents, particularly those without evidence of significant property damage.
Opposition lawmakers strongly criticized the legislation, with Congresswoman Gleisi Hoffmann, a former Workers’ Party president, characterizing the session as detrimental to constitutional democracy. She warned that the measure effectively encourages future attacks on government institutions by reducing consequences for such actions.
The session, overseen by Senate President Davi Alcolumbre, included declarations that certain provisions were moot due to potential conflicts with existing anti-faction legislation enacted in March. This decision prevented the restoration of more lenient sentence progression rules for other serious offenses, including organized crime and femicide.
Legal scholars have raised constitutional concerns about the legislation. Antonio José Teixeira Martins, a criminal law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, noted that while the law would apply retroactively as a more favorable criminal statute, its constitutionality remains questionable. He pointed to potential violations of separation of powers principles and concerns about creating special rules targeting specific groups of convicts.
Political scientist Rodrigo Stumpf González from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul interpreted the override as part of an ongoing institutional power struggle, with the executive branch caught between legislative and judicial branches. He suggested that lawmakers leveraged criticism of allegedly excessive sentences to also benefit individuals involved in broader coup plot cases.
The legislative action follows another significant political development: the Senate’s rejection of Jorge Messias’s Supreme Court nomination by a 42-34 vote after extensive questioning about judicial power limits and potential amnesty for January 8 convicts.
Left-wing parties have announced plans to challenge both Alcolumbre’s procedural decisions and the law’s constitutionality before the Supreme Court. Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, the government’s congressional leader, argued that crimes against democratic rule are constitutionally exempt from amnesty, pardon, or sentence reduction provisions.
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