Thousands of Brazilians Protest Against Bill That Could Grant Bolsonaro Amnesty

Author: Vera Rousseff

September 23, 2025

HRRC condemns the Brazilian government’s efforts to shield politicians, including former President Jair Bolsonaro, from being held accountable for criminal behavior.

In São Paulo, protesters hold a giant Brazilian flag that reads “No Amnesty.” [Image credit: Isaac Fontana/EPA]

On Sunday, tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to protest against a bill that would allow the government to grant amnesty to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. The former right-wing leader, who is currently under house arrest, was sentenced earlier this month to 27 years and three months in prison for an attempted coup. Protesters also expressed frustration over a second bill that would make it more difficult to launch criminal proceedings against lawmakers.

The protests took place in more than a dozen cities across the country, with many participants accusing the conservative majority in Brazil’s lower house of attempting to shield Bolsonaro and his allies from legal consequences. Current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his support for the protests, writing on X that, “Today's demonstrations show that the population does not want impunity or amnesty.” 

The so-called Shielding Bill, which was passed by Brazil’s lower house on Tuesday, requires lawmakers voting in a secret ballot to give approval before one of their own can be charged or arrested. Effectively, this means politicians can shield their allies from criminal investigations and accountability for illegal behavior. The day after the bill was passed, the conservative majority in the lower house also voted to fast-track the amnesty bill for Bolsonaro and his allies. Both bills now face a vote in the Senate.

Bolsonaro’s failed coup attempt took place after he narrowly lost the presidential election to Lula in 2022. Investigations uncovered that Bolsonaro had overseen a plan to overturn the election results, grant more power to the military, and assassinate Lula and other political opponents. The conspiracy failed to gain sufficient military support to be carried out, but it did result in hundreds of Bolsonaro’s supporters storming Brazil’s Congress building on January 8, 2023.

Given the almost uncanny similarity between the current situation in Brazil and recent political events in the United States, it is little surprise that President Donald Trump has expressed his support for Bolsonaro. He previously characterized the Brazilian Supreme Court’s investigation of Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt” and slammed the country with a 50% tariff in July. In a New York Times opinion article from earlier this month, Lula struck back at Trump and defended the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Although last weekend’s protests reflect the desire of many Brazilians for Bolsonaro and his allies to be punished, the country remains deeply divided. A recent poll showed that out of 2,005 respondents, 50% said Bolsonaro should be jailed, while 43% disagreed and 7% declined to answer. Nevertheless, the protests are a promising sign of the Brazilian people’s commitment to holding their government accountable when it comes to authoritarian and corrupt practices.

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Glossary

• Accountability: being held responsible for one’s actions, especially in a legal or political context.

• Amnesty: an official pardon granted by a government to people who have committed political offenses.

• Authoritarian: a system of government or leadership style that concentrates power in one authority, often limiting freedoms and political opposition.

• Condemns: to strongly disapprove of something, usually in a public or official way.

• Conspiracy: a secret plan by a group of people to commit an unlawful or harmful act.

• Coup (or Coup d’état): a sudden, often violent overthrow of a government, usually carried out by the military or a small group.

• Criminal Proceedings: the legal process through which someone accused of committing a crime is investigated, tried, and possibly punished.

• Demonstration: a public gathering or protest to express opinions on political or social issues.

• Fast-track: to speed up the process of approving or implementing something.

• Impunity: freedom from punishment or negative consequences, even after committing wrongdoing.

• Lower House: the chamber of a country’s legislature that usually has more members and represents the population more directly (in Brazil, the Chamber of Deputies).

• Oversee: to supervise or manage an activity or process.

• Right-wing: a political position or ideology that generally emphasizes tradition, authority, nationalism, free-market economics, and limited government involvement in the economy.

• Secret Ballot: a voting method in which votes are cast privately to prevent intimidation or influence.

• Shield (verb): to protect someone from harm, responsibility, or punishment.

• Storm (verb): to rush forcefully into a place, often with aggression.

• Supreme Court: the highest judicial authority in a country, whose decisions are final.

• Tariff: a tax imposed on imported or exported goods.

• Uncanny: something that is strangely unusual, mysterious, or unsettling, often because it feels oddly familiar or too similar to something else.

• Verdict: a formal decision made by a jury or court in a legal case.