Alcolumbre resists scheduling the Amnesty Bill and says the proposal lacks support in the Senate.
The Senate president's resistance comes amid pressure from Jair Bolsonaro on his allies to ensure the measure advances.
247 - The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), has resisted scheduling the Amnesty Bill for a vote should it be approved in the Chamber of Deputies. According to the CNN BrazilThe senator indicated to both government and opposition members that the proposal to pardon those involved in the coup attempts of January 8, 2023, is not among this year's priorities and he does not see sufficient support for the bill to move forward in the House.
Amnesty has become one of the main campaign promises of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his supporters, who are trying to mobilize their base in Congress to ensure the bill's approval. However, Alcolumbre believes that the Senate is not in a position to validate the measure, hindering the right wing's plans.
Despite the resistance, senators aligned with Bolsonaro believe that the eventual approval of the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies could change the stance of the Senate president. "Support in one of the legislative houses can change the mood of the other," admitted a senator aligned with the former president.
Even if it passes the Senate, the amnesty would still need to be signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), who has already expressed his opposition to the initiative. Furthermore, the text could face challenges in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on grounds of unconstitutionality.
Bolsonaro has focused his efforts on convincing the Speaker of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), to put the bill to a vote. In addition to right-wing lawmakers, parties such as PSD and União Brasil have also shown support for the proposal.
While the issue is not on the House agenda, the PL's strategy is to reach the 308 votes – the quorum needed to approve a Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC). This number is higher than required for the approval of the bill itself, but it would serve as a direct message to the Supreme Court. If the Court declares the amnesty unconstitutional, Congress would have sufficient support to approve a constitutional amendment on the subject.
Although initially intended for those imprisoned for the coup attempts of January 8th, the bill could ultimately benefit Jair Bolsonaro (PL), should he be convicted of the crimes listed in the indictment presented by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) last month. "My dream is to approve it with the quorum required for a Constitutional Amendment. Because if the Supreme Court wants to consider declaring it unconstitutional, we already know we have the votes to approve an amendment to the Constitution," stated the leader of the PL in the Chamber of Deputies, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ).
The First Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has scheduled for March 25 the analysis by the panel of the complaint filed by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) against Bolsonaro for attempted coup d'état.
Submitted by the Attorney General's Office to the Supreme Court on February 18, the indictment positions Bolsonaro as the leader of a criminal organization that acted to undermine the election results after President Lula's victory in the 2022 elections. If convicted of all the crimes he is accused of, Bolsonaro's sentences could range from 12 years to more than 40 years in prison.
