Scoopfeeds — Intelligent news, curated.
Brazil's Congress approves plan to drastically cut Bolsonaro's jail term
top

Brazil's Congress approves plan to drastically cut Bolsonaro's jail term

BBC News · May 1, 2026, 5:58 AM · Also reported by 4 other sources

Key takeaways

  • Toby Mann Getty Images Brazil's Congress has overturned a veto of a bill that would dramatically reduce former president Jair Bolsonaro's prison sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the last election.
  • Last year Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in jail for his attempt to cling to power after losing the 2022 elections to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
  • The law could still be challenged in the Supreme Court.

Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.

Toby Mann Getty Images Brazil's Congress has overturned a veto of a bill that would dramatically reduce former president Jair Bolsonaro's prison sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the last election.

Last year Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in jail for his attempt to cling to power after losing the 2022 elections to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula had tried to block a subsequent push by the conservative-majority Congress to reduce Bolsonaro's term to just over two years, but in a tense session on Thursday lawmakers overrode his veto of a law changing how prison sentences are calculated.

Article preview — originally published by BBC News. Full story at the source.
Read full story on BBC News → More top stories

Also covered by

Aggregated and edited by the Scoop newsroom. We surface news from BBC News alongside other reporting so you can compare coverage in one place. Editorial policy · Corrections · About Scoop