Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison
He fought the law and justice won.
A couple of months following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now seems headed to prison.
Expected Incarceration
The found-guilty coup-monger – who's been under residential detention in his mansion while a series of judicial steps and challenges unfold – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a infamous high-security facility.
Previous Remarks on Inmates
During Bolsonaro’s long public life, the conservative ex- military man displayed minimal sympathy for the country's inmates.
“For what reason must we give these dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, you simply need is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”
Prison Destination Debate
Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an seeming effort to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the result of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 political campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His health is very grave. He cannot to manage if they move him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells containing forty prisoners: “It's almost one square metre per detainee.
“We conversed to the inmates and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” added the senator.
Allies Speak Out
The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.
Authoring in a prominent daily, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest unfairness in its record”.
“It is an wrong that erodes the hearts of many Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Varied General Response
It is possibly accurate considering the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. However his predicted incarceration has also gladdened the hearts of many individuals who feel he should be jailed for conspiring to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and even plotting to have him murdered.
Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the current leader's Workers’ party, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get proper handling – but respectful treatment in prison. He can’t carry on being his personal jailer for his entire life.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the harsh handling of prisoners, had suddenly woken up to their rights. “Only now has the far-right – which has consistently claimed that basic rights were not for criminals – decided to tour a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are truly like,” he remarked.
“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, degrading treatment”.
Possible Prison Conditions
Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of inmates, his more likely destination appears to be a close penitentiary for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
The accommodations are far more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the impressive leader's home, around 12 miles away.
Based on sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 sq metre WC with a bathing area and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a TV and even a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” information indicated.
Political Comments
Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his fate in the {