Chamber approves urgent amnesty bill for coup plotters

The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved, on the night of this Wednesday (17), an urgent request in favor of Bill (PL) 2162/2023, which grants amnesty to those involved in the coup acts of January 8, 2023.

There were 311 votes in favor, 163 against and 7 abstentions .

The result was widely celebrated by deputies in favor of the bill. Before the vote closed, members of parliament opposed to the proposal shouted slogans like "no amnesty."

The decision to schedule the vote was taken by the President of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) , after a meeting with party leaders that took place earlier.

Two and a half years ago, coup plotters supporting former President Jair Bolsonaro vandalized the headquarters of the Three Powers for not accepting the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva .

The request for urgency speeds up the processing of the matter , eliminating and reducing procedural formalities and deadlines. This means the text can be voted on directly in the plenary at any time without needing to go through committees .

After announcing the result, Motta stated that the country needs to be pacified.

"Brazil needs peace. It's not about erasing the past, but about allowing the present to be reconciled and the future built on the basis of dialogue and respect. There are urgent issues ahead, and the country needs to move forward," he said.

Motta said he will appoint a rapporteur for the project this Thursday (18) , so that he can draft a replacement text “that finds the support of the broad majority of the House”.

Authored by Congressman Marcelo Crivella (Republicanos-RJ) , the project grants amnesty “to participants in politically motivated protest demonstrations that took place between October 30, 2022, and the date the law comes into effect” .

Bolsonaro's allies argue that the amnesty should also cover the former president, who was sentenced by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to more than 27 years in prison , in a trial concluded last week.