Congress Overturns Lula’s Veto on Sentencing Bill After Senate Rejects Messias

Overview

• Lawmakers in a joint session Thursday overturned Lula’s full veto of the “dosimetry” bill by 318–144 in the Chamber and 49–24 in the Senate, following Wednesday’s 42–34 Senate rejection of Jorge Messias for the Supreme Court.
• The new law changes how sentences are calculated for related crimes against democracy by using the penalty of the gravest offense instead of adding terms, adds sentence reductions for crowd‑context crimes by non‑leaders, and allows regime progression after about 16.6% of a sentence.
• Reports say the changes could help Jair Bolsonaro seek an earlier move from closed to semi‑open prison in two to three years, though any benefit depends on judicial review under the updated rules.
• During the session, leaders declared overlapping passages with a separate anti‑gang law inoperative to limit effects on crimes such as homicide, feminicide and rape.
• The government’s vote‑whipping faltered despite about R$10.9 billion in recent amendment releases, and opposition figures cast the twin defeats as a power shift that could spur CPIs or future moves against STF ministers as the PT signals plans to contest the law’s constitutionality.