Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison

He battled justice and justice prevailed.

Sixty days subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears jail-bound.

Imminent Incarceration

The convicted instigator – who had been subject to residential detention in his mansion while a number of judicial steps and challenges unfold – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the near future, during growing talk that he will be moved to a well-known maximum security prison.

Past Statements on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited scant mercy for the country's inmates.

“For what reason must we offer these lowlifes a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Prison Location Debate

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, a group of four this week inspected the complex in an obvious effort to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, claimed he expected the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the consequence of a near-fatal stabbing during the last election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He won’t be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the quality of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding 40 prisoners: “That is practically one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” continued the senator.

Supporters React

Lucas is not the lone figure speaking out ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted detention.

Penning in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest unfairness in its history”.

“This is an injustice that gnaws the spirits of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied Public Reaction

That may be correct due to the significant support Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. Yet his expected imprisonment has also warmed the hearts of numerous individuals who believe he should be jailed for planning to block his successor from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting president's political party, said: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain dignified treatment – but proper treatment while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years celebrating the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has always argued that civil liberties are not for criminals – decided to inspect a jail to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, insulting conduct”.

Potential Jail Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of detainees, his expected assigned facility looks to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the impressive presidential palace, around 12 miles away.

According to sources, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the size of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a set and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” the report stated.

Ideological Comments

He denounced the talked-about plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his fate in the {

Craig Richardson
Craig Richardson

A tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and digital trends.