Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison
He fought justice and the legal system triumphed.
Two months after being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.
Imminent Jailing
The found-guilty instigator – who has been subject to home confinement in his mansion while a set of judicial steps and appeals play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, during growing talk that he will be transferred to a infamous maximum security prison.
Previous Remarks on Inmates
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing ex- paratrooper exhibited scant sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.
“What’s the need to provide these lowlifes a good life?” he once mused. “They deserve to be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to end up there, all you have to do is not rape, abduction or rob.”
Jail Facility Discussion
Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week visited the complex in an obvious attempt to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe gut problems – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is highly critical. He cannot to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the standard of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding forty inmates: “That’s practically one meter squared per detainee.
“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, naturally, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.
Backers React
The senator isn't the lone figure speaking out prior to the ex-leader's expected imprisonment.
Authoring in a major daily, another ally, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest wrong in its history”.
“It represents an unfairness that eats away the spirits of many Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Divided Public Opinion
It is possibly accurate considering the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. But his expected imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of millions individuals who feel he deserves to be incarcerated for plotting to block the incoming president from taking power – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.
The lawmaker, a representative for the sitting president's political party, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. No one wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to get proper treatment – but dignified care while incarcerated. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the severe handling of convicts, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties are not for criminals – chosen to visit a prison to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he said.
“The former president is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, demeaning handling”.
Potential Prison Environment
Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his more likely destination seems to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
Its cells are far more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the stunning presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.
As per information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – roughly the size of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter veranda. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a set and even a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” the report stated.
Ideological Reactions
He criticized the talked-about plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his outcome in the {