Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He contested the law and the law prevailed.

Two months after receiving a 27-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks headed to prison.

Imminent Imprisonment

The found-guilty instigator – who had been subject to residential detention in his estate while a series of judicial steps and appeals proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, during increasing rumors that he will be moved to a notorious high-security penitentiary.

Past Statements on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing ex- soldier showed scant mercy for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we give these scoundrels a easy time?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up there, you simply need is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Location Speculation

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week visited the facility in an seeming bid to discourage the supreme court from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, stated he expected the elderly figure to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and worried his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the result of a near-fatal assault during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen inmates: “That’s almost one meter squared per prisoner.

“We conversed to the convicts and they grumble, of course, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

The senator isn't the only voice expressing views before the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Authoring in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its history”.

“It is an wrong that gnaws the hearts of millions Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Divided Public Response

It is possibly true due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of numerous other people who believe he should be jailed for planning to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and also conspiring to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting administration's allied group, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to get proper care – but respectful treatment behind bars. He must not continue being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years applauding the severe handling of convicts, had suddenly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties were not for offenders – opted to inspect a prison to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, insulting treatment”.

Likely Incarceration Facilities

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently contains about fourteen thousand inmates, his expected location looks to be a adjacent jail for officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the stunning leader's home, about a short distance away.

As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 square meter bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter veranda. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his cell as long as they were provided by his relatives,” information indicated.

Partisan Reactions

Senator Lucas criticized the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his outcome in the {

William Beltran
William Beltran

A passionate collector and writer specializing in gaming memorabilia and unique finds.