"Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has vetoed a bill that would dramatically reduce the prison sentence of the country's far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last year of plotting a coup. Lula vetoed the bill, which was passed by congress in December, on the third anniversary of riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital, Brasilia, over his defeat by Lula in the 2022 general election."
"In scenes reminiscent of the 2021 US Capitol riots, thousands of demonstrators ransacked government buildings in Brasilia on 8 January 2023, a week after Lula's inauguration for a third term, and called on Brazil's military to overthrow him. January 8th is etched in our history as the day of our democracy's victory, Lula said on Thursday at the presidential palace, which was one of the buildings targeted by rioters."
"Bolsonaro, 70, was sent to prison in November after being convicted of trying to cling on to power in a landmark coup trial seen as a test of Brazilian democracy. He denied the charges. The former president and his supporters, including Donald Trump, have argued that he is the victim of a leftwing witch-hunt. In December, his allies in Brazil's conservative-dominated congress pushed through a bill to reduce his prison sentence from 27 years to a little over two."
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed a congressional bill that would have dramatically reduced Jair Bolsonaro's prison sentence. The veto coincided with the third anniversary of the 8 January 2023 Brasilia riots, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters ransacked government buildings and urged the military to intervene after Bolsonaro's election defeat. Bolsonaro was imprisoned in November following conviction for plotting a coup to prevent Lula's inauguration; he denies the charges. Conservative allies in Congress passed a December measure cutting his sentence from 27 years to a little over two, prompting the presidential veto. Congress retains authority to reject the veto and enact the sentence reduction.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]