SAO PAULO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signed into law an anti-crime bill that toughens measures to stem a rampant deadly crime wave, although he vetoed some parts of the bill, the government said on Wednesday. The anti-crime package, which was approved by Brazil’s Senate earlier this month, toughens laws to tackle corruption, organized crime and violent crime practiced by criminal gangs. The package was a major promise by Bolsonaro, a former army captain who surged to power last year on a campaign vowing to end years of corruption and spiraling violent crime. The bill eliminates the restriction on the collection of genetic material only in cases of willful crime committed against life, sexual freedom or sexual crime. Bolsonaro, who ran on a law-and-order platform, won support from Brazilians tired of the warring drug gangs that have come to terrorize large swaths of the country.

Source: National Post December 25, 2019 16:07 UTC