Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars

He battled justice and the law prevailed.

Sixty days following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Imprisonment

The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been living under home confinement in his residence while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, amidst mounting rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious top-security facility.

Historical Comments on Inmates

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the far-right former military man displayed little mercy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“Why should we provide these scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They should just get screwed, period. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish there, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Debate

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week visited the facility in an obvious effort to prevent the judiciary from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old figure to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious gut problems – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He cannot to cope if they send him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “That’s virtually one square meter per inmate.

“We spoke to the inmates and they complain, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

He is not the lone figure expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.

Penning in a leading newspaper, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its history”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the spirits of millions of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Mixed Public Opinion

This could be accurate due to the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. However his anticipated jailing has also pleased the spirits of millions individuals who believe he deserves to be jailed for conspiring to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the current leader's political party, commented: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get proper treatment – but proper treatment while incarcerated. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the harsh treatment of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that basic rights should not be for criminals – chosen to tour a penitentiary to find out what situations are really like,” he said.

“The former president is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning handling”.

Likely Jail Environment

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 detainees, his expected destination seems to be a adjacent jail for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular leader's home, about 20 kilometers away.

As per information, the cell Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – about the size of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his relatives,” information indicated.

Partisan Comments

The lawmaker condemned the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {