Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison
He battled justice and justice triumphed.
Two months after getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now looks jail-bound.
Imminent Jailing
The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been living under house arrest in his residence while a set of legal procedures and petitions play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, amidst increasing talk that he will be sent to a well-known top-security penitentiary.
Historical Statements on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s long political career, the far-right former paratrooper displayed scant compassion for Brazil’s prison population.
“What’s the need to offer those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, period. That’s what I reckon.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to finish behind bars, you simply need is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”
Prison Facility Speculation
However the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, a group of four this week visited the facility in an seeming bid to prevent the high court from banishing him there.
The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, said he anticipated the elderly leader to be jailed in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the result of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 political campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is extremely serious. He won’t be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the quality of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding 40 inmates: “That is practically one square meter per detainee.
“We spoke to the prisoners and they grumble, of course, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.
Allies Speak Out
The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.
Authoring in a leading publication, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest wrong in its record”.
“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the souls of millions of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.
Mixed General Opinion
That may be true due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the feelings of millions other people who believe he ought to be imprisoned for planning to block the elected leader from taking power – and also scheming to have him murdered.
Reimont Otoni, a politician for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to get dignified care – but respectful handling in prison. He must not carry on being his own prison warden for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the severe handling of inmates, had suddenly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that human rights are not for criminals – decided to inspect a prison to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he said.
“The former president is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.
Possible Incarceration Facilities
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently contains about thousands of detainees, his more likely location appears to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “unique” prisoners called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro had while living in the stunning presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.
Based on sources, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the size of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 sq metre restroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a set and even a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information stated.
Partisan Responses
The lawmaker criticized the talked-about idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his fate in the {