Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison

He contested the legal system and the legal system prevailed.

Sixty days after receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now seems destined for incarceration.

Expected Incarceration

The found-guilty instigator – who had been living under home confinement in his mansion while a number of legal procedures and petitions play out – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the near future, amidst increasing speculation that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security prison.

Past Statements on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- military man exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those scoundrels a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get messed, end of story. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to wind up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”

Jail Location Discussion

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent bid to discourage the high court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, said he expected the septuagenarian politician to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He won’t be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It will be awful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating forty inmates: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the inmates and they grumble, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the sole person speaking out prior to the former president’s predicted detention.

Authoring in a major publication, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its record”.

“It is an unfairness that erodes the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Opinion

This could be correct considering the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of numerous others who believe he ought to be jailed for planning to stop his successor from becoming president – and also plotting to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's political party, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to receive respectful handling – but dignified handling while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the harsh handling of convicts, had suddenly realized to their rights. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently argued that human rights are not for offenders – opted to visit a prison to find out what circumstances are really like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, degrading conduct”.

Potential Incarceration Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now holds about thousands of inmates, his more likely destination appears to be a nearby penitentiary for officers and other “unique” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the impressive leader's home, about a short distance away.

As per information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre balcony. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and even a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” the report suggested.

Partisan Responses

He denounced the speculated plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {