Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He battled justice and the law prevailed.
Two months following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.
Anticipated Jailing
The adjudicated plotter – who's been under residential detention in his residence while a number of court processes and challenges play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, amid mounting rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security facility.
Previous Statements on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right former soldier showed little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.
“What’s the need to give those lowlifes a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They deserve to be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”
Jail Location Speculation
But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, a group of four this week visited the prison in an apparent effort to discourage the supreme court from transferring him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, said he predicted the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the quality of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells containing forty inmates: “That’s virtually one meter squared per prisoner.
“We conversed to the inmates and they grumble, of course, of the horrible food,” continued the senator.
Allies Voice Concerns
Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the one-time head of state's expected detention.
Penning in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the largest unfairness in its history”.
“This is an wrong that eats away the spirits of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Divided General Response
It is possibly correct given the considerable following Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. However his anticipated jailing has also pleased the spirits of millions others who believe he should be incarcerated for conspiring to stop his successor from becoming president – and even conspiring to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to get proper handling – but proper handling behind bars. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long applauding the harsh treatment of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their privileges. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly argued that human rights were not for offenders – decided to inspect a prison to find out what situations are truly like,” he said.
“He is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, insulting treatment”.
Possible Jail Facilities
Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now contains about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable assigned facility looks to be a close prison for officers and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
His potential cell are considerably more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although still a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the impressive leader's home, around 12 miles away.
As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – approximately the size of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre restroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “He could be allowed to have a television and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information indicated.
Partisan Reactions
He condemned the speculated plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {