Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars

He contested the legal system and justice triumphed.

Sixty days after receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Jailing

The found-guilty plotter – who had been living under home confinement in his residence while a set of legal procedures and challenges proceed – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a well-known high-security prison.

Previous Comments on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited little sympathy for the country's jailed individuals.

“Why should we provide those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get messed, period. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, you simply need is not rape, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Speculation

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week visited the prison in an seeming attempt to prevent the judiciary from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the septuagenarian politician to be jailed in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal ailments – the result of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “That is practically one meter squared per detainee.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they complain, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's expected imprisonment.

Penning in a prominent newspaper, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the spirits of many people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Mixed Public Response

This could be accurate considering the substantial following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his predicted jailing has also warmed the spirits of many other people who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to block the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the incumbent administration's Workers’ party, said: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain respectful handling – but respectful treatment behind bars. He can’t continue being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the harsh handling of prisoners, had abruptly woken up to their privileges. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties should not be for criminals – opted to visit a jail to discover what conditions are truly like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting handling”.

Likely Jail Environment

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 prisoners, his probable destination looks to be a adjacent jail for officers and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro had while occupying the impressive presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.

According to reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – roughly the size of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre balcony. “He could be allowed to have a TV and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his family,” information stated.

Partisan Comments

Senator Lucas condemned the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his outcome in the {

Misty Schneider DDS
Misty Schneider DDS

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in software development and innovation consulting.