Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison

He fought the legal system and the law triumphed.

Sixty days after getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who's been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of legal procedures and petitions unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, amid mounting talk that he will be sent to a notorious maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Comments on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former soldier displayed little mercy for the country's inmates.

“Why should we give these dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, period. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to wind up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Destination Speculation

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, several of whom this week visited the facility in an obvious effort to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, stated he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He will not be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells holding four dozen inmates: “That is practically one square metre per detainee.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they complain, of course, of the terrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the lone figure voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.

Writing in a leading daily, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its past”.

“It is an unfairness that gnaws the hearts of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Public Reaction

It is possibly true considering the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. But his predicted jailing has also gladdened the feelings of numerous others who feel he should be imprisoned for plotting to block the elected leader from assuming office – and also conspiring to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's Workers’ party, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to get respectful care – but respectful treatment behind bars. He can’t carry on being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years celebrating the harsh conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has always claimed that human rights should not be for criminals – decided to inspect a prison to discover what conditions are actually like,” he remarked.

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

Potential Incarceration Environment

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of prisoners, his more likely assigned facility seems to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular official residence, about 20 kilometers away.

As per information, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre terrace. “He could be authorized to have a television and additionally a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his family,” information suggested.

Ideological Comments

He criticized the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his future in the {

Megan Johnston
Megan Johnston

Lena is a passionate writer and tech enthusiast who loves sharing her journeys and discoveries with readers worldwide.