Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison
He fought the law and the legal system won.
A couple of months after being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “annihilate” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems jail-bound.
Expected Imprisonment
The adjudicated plotter – who's been subject to house arrest in his residence while a set of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, during growing speculation that he will be sent to a notorious high-security prison.
Historical Statements on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the conservative ex- paratrooper showed little compassion for the country's inmates.
“Why should we give these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, end of story. That's my view.”
At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to end up in prison, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or theft.”
Prison Destination Speculation
Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, several of whom this week inspected the complex in an seeming attempt to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he expected the elderly figure to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious gut issues – the result of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about packed cells and the standard of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells holding four dozen detainees: “That’s practically one square metre per prisoner.
“We conversed to the inmates and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the awful cuisine,” added the senator.
Allies Speak Out
The senator isn't the sole person voicing opinions prior to the former president’s anticipated detention.
Writing in a leading publication, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its history”.
“It represents an wrong that gnaws the spirits of millions Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.
Mixed General Opinion
This could be accurate due to the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. However his anticipated jailing has also gladdened the hearts of numerous individuals who believe he should be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from assuming office – and also scheming to have him murdered.
The lawmaker, a congressman for the sitting leader's political party, stated: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to get dignified handling – but respectful care in prison. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years praising the severe handling of convicts, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently claimed that human rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to visit a jail to learn what situations are really like,” he said.
“The former president is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, demeaning conduct”.
Possible Prison Conditions
In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 detainees, his expected destination looks to be a close jail for officers and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
The accommodations are much more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular leader's home, approximately 12 miles away.
As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the area of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a set and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” information stated.
Partisan Reactions
The lawmaker criticized the talked-about proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his future in the {