Prison Shock: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison

He battled the law and the law prevailed.

A couple of months after being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks destined for incarceration.

Expected Jailing

The convicted plotter – who's been under home confinement in his residence while a set of court processes and appeals play out – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, during increasing speculation that he will be moved to a well-known high-security facility.

Previous Statements on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited minimal compassion for the country's jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we provide these dirtbags a good life?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be screwed, end of story. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Jail Location Discussion

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, several of whom this week visited the complex in an seeming effort to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, claimed he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be jailed in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive problems – the outcome of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding 40 detainees: “That is practically one meter squared per detainee.

“We spoke to the inmates and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.

Allies Speak Out

The senator isn't the sole person speaking out prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.

Authoring in a prominent newspaper, another ally, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“This is an injustice that gnaws the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied General Response

That may be accurate due to the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his predicted jailing has also warmed the feelings of many other people who feel he should be imprisoned for plotting to block the elected leader from assuming office – and even conspiring to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the current administration's Workers’ party, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified handling while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years celebrating the severe treatment of convicts, had suddenly become aware to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always claimed that civil liberties are not for lawbreakers – opted to inspect a penitentiary to find out what conditions are really like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Possible Prison Facilities

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently holds about thousands of prisoners, his expected assigned facility looks to be a adjacent prison for police officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre restroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his cell as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” the report stated.

Ideological Comments

The lawmaker condemned the talked-about idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his future in the {

Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly

Elara is an avid mountaineer and writer, sharing her passion for high-altitude expeditions and sustainable outdoor practices.