Brazil’s Congress erupted into turmoil on Tuesday as conservative lawmakers pushed a bill that could reduce the prison sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The session saw one left-wing legislator forcibly removed by police after trying to disrupt the debate, while video footage captured scuffles as security struggled to maintain order.
Bolsonaro began serving a 27-year sentence in November for attempting a coup following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
His allies in Congress have drafted legislation aimed at cutting prison terms for coup-related crimes and potentially releasing dozens of supporters who stormed government buildings after Bolsonaro left office.
Court filings revealed that Bolsonaro’s legal team has formally requested permission for him to leave prison for surgery, echoing earlier appeals to allow him to serve his sentence under house arrest due to health concerns.
Earlier this year, Bolsonaro spent time in intensive care following intestinal surgery, and he survived a stabbing attack in 2018 during a rally.
The former president, a right-wing populist narrowly defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva three years ago, remains a polarizing figure in Brazil.
Conservative lawmakers have explored multiple paths to reduce his sentence, the latest being a bill that overhauls penalties for elected officials and drastically reduces sentences for crimes tied to the 2022 coup attempt.
One lawmaker supporting the measure told AFP news agency that the proposal would lower Bolsonaro’s prison term to two years and four months.
During the tense debate, leftist lawmaker Glauber Braga briefly took over the Speaker’s chair to protest what he described as a “coup offensive.” Braga was scheduled to face a vote on expulsion linked to a previous altercation in Congress, part of a wider set of disciplinary reforms that included changes to coup-related offences.
Police removed him forcibly amid the chaos, and the TV broadcast was cut with reporters escorted out—a move criticized as censorship by journalist groups.
Braga later told AFP, “I will not accept as a done deal an amnesty for a group of coup plotters.”
By late Tuesday, the proposed law to cut Bolsonaro’s sentence had not yet passed and would still require approval from the legislature’s second chamber.
In September, the Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro of proposing a coup to military leaders and being aware of a plan to assassinate Lula. Though no military takeover occurred, his supporters attacked government buildings in Brasília in January 2023, resulting in thousands of arrests.
Senior military officials, two former defence ministers, and a former intelligence chief were also convicted during the investigation.
Bolsonaro and his supporters have described the proceedings as a “witch hunt.” His Liberal Party remains the largest in Congress, where conservative parties outnumber those aligned with Lula.
Earlier attempts to secure an amnesty failed amid nationwide protests, making the proposed sentence reductions a potential compromise.
