Social Movements Mobilize Across Brazil Against Sentencing Reform and Indigenous Land Limits

Telesur English 14 December 2025

Nationwide demonstrations are set to sweep Brazil as social movements mobilize against a controversial sentencing reform bill and a constitutional amendment that restricts Indigenous land rights, denouncing the measures as a right-wing offensive.

Brazilian social and political movements will lead a nationwide demonstration on Sunday to oppose the draft Sentencing Dosage Bill -known as the “Dosimetry Law”- and a constitutional amendment establishing a “temporal framework” for the demarcation of Indigenous lands, measures they describe as part of a broader right-wing offensive in Congress.

The Workers’ Party (PT, in Portuguese), the Brazil Popular Front, People Without Fear, and trade unions will be among the participants.

“All of us will be in the streets, in defense of the Brazilian people,” said PT national president Edinho Silva.

The Dosimetry Law
The sentencing bill promoted by conservative lawmakers would change the rules for calculating penalties under the Criminal Code and the Criminal Enforcement Law.

Legal experts warn the proposal could create loopholes that allow reduced sentences for serious crimes, effectively functioning as a concealed amnesty that, according to the PT and social movements, would benefit those involved in the January 8, 2023, coup attempt led by convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro and undermine public rights.

In a statement, the Workers’ Party said the bill, which has passed the Chamber of Deputies and is now under Senate review, amounts to an amnesty for Bolsonaro, calling it a serious threat to democracy and the popular will.

The bill will now be considered by the Federal Senate, where it is expected to be debated in plenary session on December 17.

Threat to Indigenous Communities
The proposed constitutional amendment known as the “Temporal Framework” would restrict the demarcation of Indigenous lands to areas occupied before the 1988 Constitution came into force. Indigenous organizations and human rights groups say the measure represents a historic setback and threatens communities whose lands were taken prior to that date.

The PT accused right-wing lawmakers of advancing a coordinated offensive in Congress that violates the Constitution and Indigenous rights. The party said the debate has been marked by scenes of intimidation, restrictions on journalists and disruptions to public broadcasting on TV Câmara.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has begun deliberating on the Temporal Framework, examining two constitutional challenges to the law passed by a conservative-majority Congress in 2023. The ruling could have major implications for Indigenous land rights and the protection of the Amazon.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/brazil-protests-reform-indigenous-land/

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