Overview
- Senators approved the sentencing overhaul 48–25 after a prior lower‑house vote, sending it to the president’s desk.
- The text changes how penalties are executed, including one‑to‑two‑thirds reductions for crowd‑context crimes, faster progression to semi‑open regimes, and limits on stacking concurrent sentences.
- Estimates from proponents say Bolsonaro’s 27-year, three-month term could fall to roughly two years and four months if the bill takes effect.
- The measure could also enable early release or shorter terms for more than a hundred defendants convicted over the January 8, 2023 attacks in Brasília.
- Large protests denounced the bill, allies signaled court challenges at the Supreme Federal Court, and Congress retains the option to try to override a presidential veto; recess timing gives Lula until early February to act.