Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He contested the law and the law won.

Two months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Expected Jailing

The found-guilty instigator – who's been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the next few days, during mounting speculation that he will be sent to a infamous top-security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the far-right former soldier showed minimal compassion for the country's prison population.

“What’s the need to give those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Discussion

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, a group of four this week toured the facility in an seeming attempt to prevent the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he predicted the septuagenarian figure to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious digestive problems – the outcome of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He won’t be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “It's almost one meter squared per inmate.

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

Allies React

He is not the sole person speaking out prior to the one-time head of state's expected imprisonment.

Penning in a prominent newspaper, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its history”.

“It represents an wrong that erodes the souls of many of Brazilians,” he stated.

Mixed Public Reaction

It is possibly correct considering the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. But his predicted jailing has also pleased the spirits of millions individuals who feel he deserves to be incarcerated for conspiring to stop the elected leader from taking power – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the sitting administration's allied group, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to receive respectful treatment – but proper care in prison. He must not persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years praising the harsh treatment of inmates, had unexpectedly realized to their entitlements. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that basic rights should not be for offenders – chosen to inspect a penitentiary to find out what situations are truly like,” he stated.

“He is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, degrading conduct”.

Possible Incarceration Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of inmates, his expected destination seems to be a close jail for officers and other “special” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the spectacular official residence, approximately 12 miles away.

According to sources, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 130 square foot terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and additionally a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources indicated.

Political Reactions

He denounced the speculated plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {

Amanda Barnes
Amanda Barnes

A Canadian journalist passionate about sharing diverse cultural narratives and outdoor adventures from coast to coast.