Last week, Brazil’s House approved a motion to fast-track a bill that equates the penalty for abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy to the crime of simple homicide, even in cases where the procedure is permitted by Brazilian law (that is, rape, risk to the woman’s life, and fetal anencephaly). Initially proposed by evangelical legislator Sostenes Cavalcante, the bill was co-signed by 33 congress members — more than half belonging to Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.
The approval of the urgency motion itself was contentious. Per House rules, these requests must be approved by a simple majority on the floor. But House Speaker Arthur Lira imposed a symbolic vote, in which there is no roll-call, and did not announce which request was about to be voted on.
Newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that “after Mr. Lira announced the motion’s approval, not even Congress members themselves had understood if the motion had been voted on or not.”
This move represents the most blatant violation of House internal rules by Mr. Lira during his four-year speakership — a period that was already marked by consecutive and serious rules violations.
House internal rules and urgency motions
The website of Brazil’s lower house makes the chamber’s internal rules available for download.
These rules determine the procedures that guide both the legislative process and the functioning of the House. For example, according to articles 153...
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