Brazil & Southern Cone - June 2026

On 9 May Brazilian supreme court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes suspended a law that proposed reducing prison sentences for individuals convicted in relation to the far-right riots in Brasília on 8 January 2023. Former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), who was convicted last year for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election [SSR-25-10], could also have benefited from this bill, given that his coup conspiracy was related to the 8 January riots. This marks another instance of the judiciary and legislature locking horns, with lawmakers, especially those affiliated to right-wing opposition groups, reiterating their accusations that De Moraes is undermining democracy through his rulings.

The bill to lighten the sentences for far-right rioters and coup plotters was first approved by congress in December 2025, but earlier this year, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed the bill on the three-year anniversary of the 8 January riots. Congress later overturned Lula’s veto on 30 April, and the senate president Davi Alcolumbre, of the conservative União Brasil party, promulgated the bill on 8 May.

However, De Moraes ordered the temporary suspension of the bill on 9 May while the judiciary reviews its legality. He had the authority to do so because he had been appointed as the lead judge to oversee legal challenges against the bill. Appeals were submitted by the national press association (ABI) and the left-wing Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL) arguing that the bill violated the constitution. 

In late April, following the congressional decision to remove the presidential veto and restore the bill, civil society groups slammed the move as a major setback to Brazil’s institutions. A coalition of NGOs known as the Pacto pela Democracia (Pact for Democracy) released a statement on 30 April arguing that overturning the veto on the bill weakened the accountability of those who had attempted to undermine the democratic order.

The statement also criticised the rhetoric of some moderate conservative lawmakers in recent months used to justify the passage of the bill. For example, the centre-right president of the lower house of congress, Hugo Motta (Republicanos), frequently used the term ‘pacification’ when discussing the bill during congress sessions. He argued that the bill to reduce the jail time of far-right rioters was needed to ease tensions in Brazil’s polarised political landscape – with the far-right ‘Bolsonarismo’ movement complaining for the past three years that Bolsonaro supporters convicted for storming the seats of government were the victims of human rights abuses, taking up the cause of 8 January rioter amnesty as one of the main rallying cries during Bolsonarista demonstrations.

The Pacto pela Democracia rejected this claim that a reduction of prison sentences was needed to pacify the country, highlighting that the bill does not have popular support – it is a cause dear to the Bolsonarismo movement, not to the average Brazilian. The NGOs also warned that overturning the veto on the bill could signal the “normalisation” of attacks against democracy such as the 8 January riots and the Bolsonaro coup plot.

In response to his decision to suspend the law, De Moraes faced criticism from the main right-wing contenders planning to run in the presidential election this October, including Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who claimed that De Moraes had been conspiring behind the scenes to hinder the bill.

STF nominee 

Tensions between Brazil’s governing institutions also escalated on 29 April when the senate rejected President Lula’s nominee to assume the vacant seat on the supreme court (STF), Jorge Messias. This was the first time since 1894 that congress has rejected an STF nominee. Political commentators cited in the Brazilian media have described the move not only as a blow to President Lula, but also as sending a forceful signal to the supreme court, reminding the judiciary of the power that congress holds.