Brazil Lawmakers Pass Bill That Could Slash Bolsonaro’s Prison Sentence

A proposed new sentencing framework could cut down Bolsonaro’s prison time for the coup-related conviction to as little as two years and four months.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leaves the hospital where he went to undergo a skin surgery procedure, authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, leaving the house arrest after being convicted by a Supreme Court majority of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election, in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 14, 2025. Mateus Bonomi/Reuters

A bill approved by the lower house of Brazil’s Congress would alter sentencing rules in a way that could sharply reduce prison time for former President Jair Bolsonaro and several of his top allies.

The measure cleared the Chamber of Deputies in the early hours of Dec. 10 by a vote of 291 to 148, according to an official communication. Under the bill, sentences for the crimes of coup d'état and abolition of the democratic rule of law would no longer be combined. Instead, courts would apply only the most severe penalty among the convictions.