On Sunday, September 21, 2025, the streets of Brazil’s major cities and small towns alike pulsed with a rare, unified energy. From the sunbaked avenues of Rio de Janeiro to the bustling heart of Brasília, tens of thousands of Brazilians gathered in protest against a pair of controversial legislative moves: a constitutional amendment boosting lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution, and a bill that could grant amnesty to former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, all convicted for their roles in the dramatic events following the 2022 election.
It was a day that cut across Brazil’s deep political divides, drawing artists, teachers, students, and activists into the spotlight. The protests, which erupted in all 26 states and the Federal District, were sparked by a sequence of decisions in the lower house of Congress. On Tuesday, September 16, lawmakers approved the so-called “Shielding Bill,” a constitutional amendment making it harder to arrest or prosecute sitting parliamentarians. The very next day, legislators fast-tracked a bill—championed by right-wing opposition figures and House Speaker Hugo Motta—that could pardon Bolsonaro, his closest allies, and hundreds of supporters convicted for their part in the attempted coup of January 2023.
Bolsonaro, who was sentenced on September 11, 2025, to 27 years and three months in prison for trying to cling to power after losing the 2022 election, is the first former president in Latin America’s largest democracy to be convicted of attempting to overturn an election. He has been under house arrest since early August, following a breach of court-imposed precautionary measures. Despite denying any wrongdoing, the weight of the conviction—and the prospect of amnesty—has left Brazil’s political landscape deeply unsettled.
The public’s response was immediate and impassioned. Some of Brazil’s most renowned cultural figures led the charge. Music legends Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, and Gilberto Gil—icons who once stood up to the military dictatorship of the 1960s—reunited on Rio’s Copacabana beach, lending their voices and star power to the demonstrations. “I was outraged by the news that many deputies voted in favor of a shielding law for themselves and their colleagues,” Veloso told Brazilian news outlet UOL. “This, along with a proposal for amnesty for the coup plotters. I think I identified with the majority of the Brazilian population, who do not want these things to go through.”
Other artists joined in. Superstar Anitta, born in Rio, used her massive social media platform to denounce the proposed legislation. “The people are the ones who shape the country’s politics. We have the right and the duty to hold politicians accountable, after all, we vote and they work for the good of the population,” she declared in a video message. Actor Wagner Moura, addressing a crowd in Salvador, Bahia, emphasized the extraordinary nature of the moment. “This extraordinary moment in Brazilian democracy… serves as an example to the entire world,” he said, choosing to focus on the spirit of protest rather than the specifics of the legislative proposals.
On the ground, the mood was both festive and fierce. Protesters chanted “No amnesty!” and brandished signs denouncing Congress as “the enemy of the people.” In São Paulo, a sea of demonstrators packed Paulista Avenue, while in Brasília, environmentalist Aline Borges told AFP, “We are here to protest this Congress, which is made up of criminals and corrupt people dressed as politicians, who are pushing for a law that protects them.” Another protester, Dulce Oliveira, a teacher, echoed the sentiment: “This protest is important because the people need to show them what we want, because they are there to represent our needs, not their own.”
The legislative moves that triggered the demonstrations have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. The Shielding Bill, which passed the lower house by just six votes over the minimum required for a constitutional amendment (314 votes), requires that any charges or arrests of lawmakers be approved by a secret ballot among their peers. Supporters, like House Speaker Hugo Motta, defend the measure as a bulwark against judicial overreach. Political scientist Mayra Goulart, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, explained to AFP that the bill is a reaction to judicial scrutiny of lawmakers’ use of parliamentary amendments—funds often used to secure re-election and political bargaining.
But the backlash has been fierce. Several deputies took to social media to apologize for their votes, citing pressure to support the measure in order to “prevent the boycott of important agendas” for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government. Lula himself was unequivocal in his disapproval. Speaking to BBC News Brasil, he said, “If I were a deputy, I would vote against. If I were president of my party, I would advise to vote against.” Lula also made it clear that, should the amnesty bill for Bolsonaro reach his desk, he would veto it: “If I came to veto, it may be sure I would veto.” He added that the issue of amnesty is “a problem of Congress” but reiterated his opposition to pardoning those convicted of calculated crimes, noting that such measures could be unconstitutional and might again come before the Supreme Federal Court.
Lula was careful to frame Bolsonaro’s conviction as a matter of law, not politics. “I think he [Bolsonaro] was tried for a crime he committed. There is no politics in this,” Lula told the BBC, contrasting his own past legal troubles with Bolsonaro’s case. “In the case of the former president, you have concrete evidence, you have concrete allegations, you have concrete documents written by them.” Yet, he expressed no joy at the outcome, calling the trial “a sad episode” and stating, “Honestly, I would like anyone to have committed any crime. And he [Bolsonaro] had every right to defend itself. All the right. He had the presumption of innocence, you know? And was condemned.”
Meanwhile, Brazil remains deeply divided. According to a Datafolha poll released September 16, 2025, 50% of respondents believe Bolsonaro should be jailed, while 43% disagree and 7% are undecided. The survey, which interviewed 2,005 people nationwide, underscores the ongoing polarization: while a majority backs the conviction, a substantial portion of the population continues to support the former president.
As the Senate prepares to debate both the Shielding Bill and the amnesty proposal, the stakes for Brazilian democracy could hardly be higher. Lula has signaled that his own political future—specifically, whether he will run again in 2026—will depend on his health and the evaluation of his Workers’ Party “at the appropriate time.” For now, the focus remains on Congress and the courts, with the wider public watching, protesting, and demanding accountability.
Sunday’s protests may not have resolved Brazil’s deep political rifts, but they sent a powerful message: the country’s citizens are not content to watch from the sidelines as the rules of accountability and justice are rewritten.
