Brazil's Senate Passes Lula's Public Security Amendment With No Votes Against
Brazil's Senate approved President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's public security constitutional amendment on November 3, with 73 votes in favour in the first round and 75 in the second, and no senator voting against; the measure needed 49 votes to pass. The government sent the amendment to Congress in April 2025 and the Chamber of Deputies approved it in March 2026. The vote is the first major win in Congress for Lula since he won re-election in the October 25 runoff.
The amendment sets tougher penalties for leaders and members of criminal factions, paramilitary groups and militias, including mandatory imprisonment in maximum-security prisons, curbs on parole and asset seizures. It writes the Unified Public Security System (SUSP) into the constitution, setting out how the federal government, states and municipalities share information and coordinate, and it paves the way for the federal public security ministry Lula has promised to create; the text is expected to be promulgated later this week.
The most contested point, lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18, was split off by a 38-to-36 vote and will be handled as a separate constitutional proposal. The opposition Liberal Party proposed 16 as the general age and 14 for serious crimes, while the governing Workers' Party counterproposed 16 only for heinous crimes.
Source: Federal Senate of Brazil
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴西利亚国会大厦。Cayambe 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。 / Photo: The National Congress buildings in Brasília. Photo by Cayambe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
