Pedro Rousseff, a Belo Horizonte councilor from the PT party and great-nephew of former President Dilma Rousseff, has filed a lawsuit in federal court to suspend benefits granted to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. He contends that no law provides for such privileges to a convicted and imprisoned former leader.
Pedro Rousseff (PT-MG), a councilor in Belo Horizonte and great-nephew of Dilma Rousseff (PT), has filed a lawsuit in the Civil Court of the Belo Horizonte Judicial Section, in the Federal Court of Minas Gerais' capital, seeking to suspend benefits provided to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The action, filed on December 1, 2025, is grounded in the lack of legal provision for former leaders deprived of liberty.
The filing references reports showing that Bolsonaro, sentenced by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to 27 years and three months in prison for a coup plot, continues to have access to four staff members for security and support, two official vehicles with drivers, and two commissioned advisors. Additionally, there are administrative expenses such as travel tickets, per diems, fuel, and vehicle maintenance, all funded by the state.
Rousseff argues that the law does not contemplate 'in any hypothesis, the situation of a criminally convicted and liberty-deprived former president.' The regulatory decree, per the lawsuit, assumes the ex-head of state remains in public life, facing specific risks and engaging in commitments that justify logistics, security, and advisory support. 'Once imprisoned, none of these foundations persist,' the text states. Maintaining such resources for an incarcerated individual would constitute a 'deviation of purpose,' as the structure is intended to protect former heads of state in civil activities, not those without public participation.
The councilor also claims harm to public funds through expenditures without public cause, without constitutional purpose, and without societal utility. The case proceeds in court, with no hearing date set.