Brazil Senate Begins Review of Bill to Cut Jan. 8 Sentences After Contentious House Passage

Overview

• The Chamber of Deputies approved the so‑called PL da Dosimetria by 291 to 148, advancing a measure that could reduce penalties for those convicted in the January 8, 2023 actions and the attempted coup, after a tense session with protests and the forcible removal of a lawmaker as TV Câmara cut its feed.
• The text applies only the harsher penalty when attempted coup and abolition of the democratic state occur in the same context, accelerates progression for primary offenders to 16% of the sentence and to 20% for repeat offenders, extends sentence remission for study or work to house arrest, and allows a one‑third to two‑thirds reduction for crowd participants who were not leaders or financiers.
• The proposal arrived at the Senate’s Constitution and Justice Committee with Senator Esperidião Amin as rapporteur, and leaders expect a vote next week after which it could proceed to the full chamber.
• Amin said he personally supports amnesty, though the CCJ chair labeled such an insertion unconstitutional, and the House‑approved text removed earlier amnesty language in favor of recalculating penalties.
• The government signaled opposition as Lula met senior senators to discuss options, and while the bill’s author projects that Jair Bolsonaro could remain in a closed regime for about two years and four months, any reduction would depend on subsequent STF decisions in individual cases.