Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars
He contested justice and the law triumphed.
Sixty days subsequent to being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro at last seems destined for incarceration.
Expected Imprisonment
The convicted plotter – who had been subject to residential detention in his estate while a series of judicial steps and appeals unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the next few days, during growing talk that he will be transferred to a notorious top-security prison.
Past Remarks on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s long political career, the right-wing former paratrooper displayed little compassion for Brazil’s prison population.
“For what reason must we give those scoundrels a good life?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to wind up in prison, you simply need is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”
Prison Destination Speculation
Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an seeming effort to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.
The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, stated he expected the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut issues – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding forty inmates: “It's almost one square metre per prisoner.
“We spoke to the prisoners and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” continued the senator.
Supporters React
He is not the only voice voicing opinions prior to the former president’s anticipated detention.
Writing in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the biggest unfairness in its record”.
“It is an injustice that gnaws the hearts of millions Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Mixed General Response
It is possibly true considering the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. However his anticipated imprisonment has also warmed the hearts of many others who think he deserves to be imprisoned for plotting to block his successor from taking power – and additionally conspiring to have him killed.
The lawmaker, a politician for the current president's Workers’ party, commented: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to receive proper handling – but dignified care while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long applauding the severe treatment of convicts, had suddenly realized to their entitlements. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that basic rights are not for offenders – opted to inspect a penitentiary to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he stated.
“Bolsonaro is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning handling”.
Likely Prison Conditions
In spite of speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently houses about 14,000 prisoners, his more likely location appears to be a close jail for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, approximately 20 kilometers away.
As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a TV and even a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” sources indicated.
Political Responses
Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his future in the {