Brazil's Senate will not vote on a major public security constitutional amendment before the presidential runoff election on October 25. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP) withdrew the proposal from the plenary agenda on Thursday, October 15, after senators failed to reach agreement on amendments concerning the age of criminal responsibility.
The amendment, known as the PEC da Segurança, was a centerpiece of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's re-election platform. The delay frustrates allies in the Workers' Party (PT) who had hoped to showcase the measure as proof of the government's tough-on-crime credentials in the final stretch of the campaign.
Division over criminal responsibility age
The impasse centers on whether to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. Senator Camilo Santana (PT-CE), the PT leader in the Senate and a coordinator of Lula's campaign, introduced an amendment reducing the age to 16 for heinous crimes while keeping it at 18 for other offenses. The move put him at odds with Government Leader Teresa Leitão (PT-PE), who had negotiated with Alcolumbre to vote the amendment without changes to the criminal responsibility age.
Opposition Leader Rogério Marinho (PL-RN) pushed a broader reduction, lowering the age to 16 for most crimes and to 14 for specific cases. The dispute split the PT caucus, with some members wary of adopting a proposal historically associated with former President Jair Bolsonaro's allies.
Government seeks separate track
After the withdrawal, Camilo Santana and Institutional Relations Minister José Guimarães (PT-CE) said they would work to pass the amendment this week without the criminal responsibility provision. The government's strategy was to approve the security package and leave the age debate to a separate proposal — PEC 32 of 2015 — already approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies in June.
The maneuver aimed to salvage the security legislation before the runoff while avoiding a divisive vote that could damage the PT's electoral messaging.
Accusations between government and opposition
The withdrawal triggered recriminations. Camilo Santana denied the government had asked Alcolumbre to delay the vote, insisting the intention was to approve the text this week. His statement responded to Marinho's charge that the postponement shielded the PT from a politically sensitive debate on criminal responsibility days before the second round.
What the amendment does
The PEC da Segurança would enshrine the Unified Public Security System (SUSP) in the Constitution, integrating police actions across federal, state, and municipal levels. It mandates that 50 percent of resources from the National Public Security Fund (FNSP) and the National Penitentiary Fund (Funpen) be transferred to states and the Federal District.
The proposal expands the Federal Highway Police's (PRF) mandate to include patrolling federal railways and waterways. It constitutionalizes the penal police and strengthens their role in custody control. It imposes harsher penalties for members of militias and criminal organizations, barring benefits such as sentence progression, temporary release, and provisional freedom. It also mandates seizure and forfeiture of assets derived from illicit activity, directing proceeds to dedicated security funds.
The Constitution and Justice Committee of the Senate approved the text on Wednesday, October 14. A constitutional amendment requires at least 49 favorable votes in each of two rounds in the Senate. If senators alter the version sent by the Chamber of Deputies, the bill must return to the lower house for another vote. Constitutional amendments do not require presidential assent but are promulgated only after both houses approve identical texts.