The president of the Brazilian House of Representatives, Hugo Motta, notified Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro of the administrative proceedings against him that could result in the loss of his mandate because of his absences from House sessions.

In March of this year, Eduardo Bolsonaro requested a 120-day leave of absence from his mandate and moved to the United States with his family, claiming political persecution. Since July 20, when his leave ended, the congressman has not attended sessions.

According to the official document issued by Motta on Tuesday (Dec. 9), the decree of loss of mandate may occur because he “failed to attend, in the current legislative session, one-third of the deliberative sessions of the House of Representatives.” This rule is set out in paragraph 3 of article 55 of the Brazilian Constitution.

The notification states that the congressman may respond in writing within five business days.

Defense

In an Instagram post, the congressman criticized the process that could remove him from office. He stated that the process may disrespect the more than 700,000 votes he received by “removing an innocent parliamentarian.” He said that he is not in Brazil only because he cannot return.

Defendant

Eduardo Bolsonaro, who may lose his mandate, is a defendant in the Brazilian Supreme Court for the crime of coercion. In September, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro was indicted by the Attorney General’s Office in an investigation into the congressman’s actions with US authorities to pressure the trial that convicted his father for attempting a coup d’état.

This week, in addition to the imprisonment of former President Jair Bolsonaro – a retired Army captain himself – Generals Augusto Heleno Pereira, Paulo Sergio Nogueira, and Walter Braga Netto, and Admiral Almir Garnier were also arrested.

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This is the first time in Brazil’s history that military personnel have been arrested for direct involvement in a coup plot.

In the view of Professor Mateus Torres, 40 years after the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, a path towards consolidating democracy is now in place.

“Even if the military decided to attempt a coup, as has happened several times in the republic, this is no longer accepted by our democracy,” the expert said.

Dirt under the rug

Regarding the proposals being debated in Congress to grant amnesty to coup plotters, Professor Torres recalls that demands like this have been successful at other times in Brazil’s history. However, he does not believe that a possible pardon could pacify the country or reduce polarization.

“Amnesty does not appease anything. It sweeps the dirt under the rug. Amnesty, in these cases, leads to impunity for coup plotters,” he argued.

The professor also describes the possibility of military personnel losing their ranks in proceedings at the Superior Military Court after a conviction in a civil court as historic.

“There is nothing more unworthy than going against our democracy. We know there is corporatism. But right now, there is a climate for this [the loss of ranks] to happen,” he went on to argue.