Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars

He contested the legal system and justice prevailed.

Two months after receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been living under home confinement in his residence while a number of legal procedures and appeals proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the next few days, amid growing speculation that he will be moved to a infamous maximum security facility.

Historical Statements on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former military man showed scant mercy for Brazil’s inmates.

“Why should we provide those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish in prison, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Debate

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week toured the complex in an obvious effort to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal issues – the outcome of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “That is practically one square metre per prisoner.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the awful food,” added the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

He is not the only voice expressing views ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Writing in a leading publication, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its record”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the souls of countless of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Reaction

That may be true due to the significant support Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of millions other people who think he should be jailed for planning to prevent the elected leader from assuming office – and additionally scheming to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a representative for the sitting president's allied group, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to obtain proper care – but respectful handling behind bars. He can’t carry on being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the severe treatment of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the far-right – which has consistently argued that basic rights are not for offenders – opted to tour a prison to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, degrading conduct”.

Possible Incarceration Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently houses about thousands of inmates, his probable location appears to be a nearby prison for officers and other “unique” prisoners called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning presidential palace, approximately 20 kilometers away.

Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a bathing area and a 130 square foot balcony. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and additionally a cooler in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources indicated.

Ideological Comments

The lawmaker denounced the talked-about idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his future in the {

Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore

Agricultural scientist and sustainability advocate with over a decade of experience in eco-friendly farming solutions.