Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison

He fought the legal system and justice prevailed.

Two months subsequent to being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The found-guilty coup-monger – who had been subject to home confinement in his residence while a set of court processes and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the next few days, amidst growing talk that he will be transferred to a infamous maximum security penitentiary.

Past Comments on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former soldier exhibited minimal sympathy for the country's inmates.

“What’s the need to offer those scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up there, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Discussion

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an apparent attempt to discourage the judiciary from banishing him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, claimed he expected the elderly figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute digestive problems – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the last political campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells containing forty detainees: “That’s practically one meter squared per detainee.

“We talked to the inmates and they complain, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” remarked the senator.

Allies Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's expected imprisonment.

Penning in a leading publication, one more backer, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an unfairness that eats away the souls of many of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied General Reaction

It is possibly true due to the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. But his expected incarceration has also pleased the feelings of many other people who believe he ought to be jailed for plotting to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the sitting president's Workers’ party, stated: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to get dignified handling – but respectful handling in prison. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh treatment of convicts, had suddenly realized to their rights. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that human rights were not for criminals – chosen to visit a jail to find out what conditions are actually like,” he said.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, degrading handling”.

Likely Prison Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about thousands of detainees, his expected destination appears to be a adjacent prison for officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the impressive leader's home, around a short distance away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the size of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 square meter restroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter balcony. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a TV and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were donated by his family,” the report suggested.

Ideological Responses

Senator Lucas condemned the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {

Keith Carrillo
Keith Carrillo

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casino strategies and player psychology.