Overview
- Tens of thousands rallied in at least 13 state capitals, including Brasília, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife, rejecting any leniency for those convicted over efforts to subvert Brazil’s democracy.
- Demonstrators in Brasília marched from the National Museum to Congress carrying signs reading “No amnesty,” while a Copacabana rally featured performances by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.
- The bill approved in the Chamber of Deputies this week would allow concurrent sentencing for Bolsonaro’s convictions for attempting a coup and violently undermining the rule of law, and would ease eligibility for day-release to one-sixth of a sentence from one-quarter.
- Backers and media analyses say the changes could cut Bolsonaro’s prison time to roughly two years and four months, a prospect fueling the street protests.
- The proposal now moves to the Senate, where analysts expect revisions, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has previously said he would veto it; Bolsonaro’s conviction stems from a Supreme Court finding that he led a 2022 plot that included plans to kill top officials.