Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He contested the law and the legal system prevailed.

Two months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now appears headed to prison.

Expected Imprisonment

The found-guilty coup-monger – who's been living under home confinement in his residence while a series of judicial steps and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, amid increasing talk that he will be sent to a well-known top-security prison.

Historical Comments on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the right-wing former military man exhibited minimal compassion for the country's jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we give these scoundrels a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, end of story. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to wind up there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Debate

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, a group of four this week toured the prison in an apparent effort to dissuade the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the consequence of a near-fatal knife attack during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he added, who also worried about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding 40 detainees: “That is practically one meter squared per detainee.

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

Supporters Voice Concerns

He is not the lone figure voicing opinions before the ex-leader's expected detention.

Penning in a leading newspaper, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest wrong in its past”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the hearts of many people in Brazil,” he stated.

Mixed Popular Response

It is possibly true considering the substantial support Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. But his expected incarceration has also gladdened the hearts of many other people who feel he deserves to be jailed for plotting to block the incoming president from taking power – and even conspiring to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the sitting administration's political party, said: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to obtain proper handling – but proper care in prison. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the tough conditions of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to inspect a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, insulting conduct”.

Possible Incarceration Conditions

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently holds about thousands of inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the impressive presidential palace, approximately 20 kilometers away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions of two parking spaces – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and also a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Ideological Reactions

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his fate in the {