Jailhouse Shock: The FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars

He battled the legal system and justice prevailed.

Two months after getting a 27-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears jail-bound.

Expected Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who had been subject to home confinement in his residence while a set of court processes and challenges unfold – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid increasing rumors that he will be moved to a notorious maximum security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing ex- military man exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“What’s the need to give those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They should just get fucked, period. That’s what I reckon.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, the only thing required is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Destination Debate

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week visited the complex in an seeming effort to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the next 10 days and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He cannot to cope if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the condition of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells containing 40 detainees: “It's almost one square metre per prisoner.

“We conversed to the convicts and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the horrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Supporters React

He is not the sole person voicing opinions prior to the former president’s predicted imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its record”.

“This is an injustice that erodes the spirits of many of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided General Response

This could be correct considering the significant backing Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. However his expected jailing has also pleased the spirits of millions individuals who think he should be jailed for planning to block the elected leader from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the sitting leader's political party, stated: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. No one wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to receive dignified care – but dignified care while incarcerated. He can’t persist being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have long applauding the tough handling of prisoners, had suddenly realized to their rights. “Only now has the far-right – which has always asserted that basic rights were not for offenders – decided to tour a jail to learn what conditions are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning handling”.

Possible Incarceration Facilities

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently holds about thousands of prisoners, his probable assigned facility seems to be a nearby prison for officers and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning leader's home, about a short distance away.

Based on sources, the room Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources stated.

Ideological Reactions

The lawmaker denounced the speculated proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his fate in the {

Anne Smith
Anne Smith

Elara Vance is a tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their impact on society.