Prison Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars

He fought justice and the law triumphed.

Sixty days subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.

Imminent Jailing

The convicted plotter – who had been living under residential detention in his residence while a set of court processes and appeals unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid increasing talk that he will be transferred to a infamous maximum security prison.

Previous Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited scant compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“Why should we give those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Facility Speculation

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent effort to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he predicted the septuagenarian figure to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal issues – the result of a life-threatening knife attack during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the quality of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We talked to the convicts and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

He is not the only voice expressing views prior to the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.

Writing in a prominent daily, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the largest unfairness in its history”.

“It represents an wrong that gnaws the spirits of many Brazilian citizens,” he stated.

Divided General Response

This could be accurate considering the significant following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. But his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of numerous other people who believe he should be imprisoned for plotting to stop the incoming president from taking power – and additionally scheming to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting leader's political party, said: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to obtain dignified care – but proper handling while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time applauding the severe treatment of convicts, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the extreme right – which has always asserted that civil liberties were not for offenders – opted to tour a jail to learn what situations are actually like,” he stated.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, insulting treatment”.

Possible Prison Environment

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently houses about 14,000 prisoners, his expected location looks to be a adjacent jail for law enforcement and other “particular” inmates known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the spectacular leader's home, around a short distance away.

As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – about the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a television and even a cooler in his room as long as they were donated by his relatives,” information suggested.

Ideological Reactions

Senator Lucas condemned the rumoured plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his fate in the {

Adrienne Davis
Adrienne Davis

A digital marketing strategist with over 8 years of experience, specializing in SEO and content marketing for tech startups.