Prison Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison

He fought the legal system and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months following getting a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Anticipated Incarceration

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the coming days, during mounting speculation that he will be sent to a well-known top-security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the far-right former soldier showed scant sympathy for the country's inmates.

“Why should we provide these lowlifes a good life?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, period. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Location Discussion

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent attempt to dissuade the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, said he anticipated the elderly figure to be jailed in the next 10 days and feared his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe digestive issues – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the last election race – implied it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells containing 40 detainees: “That’s almost one meter squared per inmate.

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

Backers React

He is not the lone figure speaking out prior to the former president’s expected imprisonment.

Writing in a leading publication, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“It represents an wrong that gnaws the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.

Divided General Opinion

That may be true given the significant backing Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted jailing has also gladdened the hearts of millions individuals who feel he deserves to be jailed for plotting to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and even conspiring to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the sitting president's political party, stated: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive dignified treatment – but proper handling in prison. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh conditions of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their rights. “Only now has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights were not for offenders – decided to visit a jail to discover what conditions are really like,” he stated.

“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, degrading handling”.

Potential Prison Conditions

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of prisoners, his more likely destination appears to be a close prison for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro had while occupying the impressive official residence, approximately a short distance away.

According to reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – about the area of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 130 square foot balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a television and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources suggested.

Ideological Reactions

He condemned the rumoured plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {

Jennifer Murphy DVM
Jennifer Murphy DVM

Sustainable architect and writer passionate about eco-friendly construction and innovative dome designs.