Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He fought the legal system and the legal system prevailed.

Two months after getting a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Jailing

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under residential detention in his estate while a number of court processes and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the coming days, during growing talk that he will be moved to a notorious high-security facility.

Previous Statements on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- soldier exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“What’s the need to give those scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be messed, end of story. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Location Debate

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week visited the facility in an seeming attempt to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, stated he predicted the septuagenarian leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive ailments – the consequence of a almost deadly assault during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is extremely serious. He cannot to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells accommodating 40 inmates: “It's virtually one square meter per detainee.

“We spoke to the inmates and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the terrible meals,” added the senator.

Allies Speak Out

The senator isn't the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.

Penning in a prominent publication, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its history”.

“This is an wrong that gnaws the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Varied Popular Opinion

It is possibly accurate due to the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. Yet his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of many other people who feel he deserves to be incarcerated for planning to block the elected leader from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a representative for the sitting president's Workers’ party, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain proper care – but respectful treatment in prison. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years applauding the harsh treatment of prisoners, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Only now has the far-right – which has always asserted that human rights should not be for offenders – decided to tour a jail to discover what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, degrading handling”.

Potential Incarceration Facilities

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of detainees, his expected destination appears to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the spectacular official residence, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre terrace. “He could be allowed to have a TV and also a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” information stated.

Ideological Reactions

He denounced the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his outcome in the {

Gabrielle Nunez
Gabrielle Nunez

A passionate esports coach and content creator with over a decade of experience in competitive gaming and player development.