Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He contested the law and the law prevailed.

Sixty days subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.

Anticipated Jailing

The adjudicated instigator – who had been under residential detention in his estate while a set of judicial steps and challenges proceed – is widely expected to be jailed in the next few days, amidst mounting rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security prison.

Past Remarks on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the far-right former paratrooper showed scant mercy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They should just get messed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Jail Facility Discussion

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, a group of four this week inspected the prison in an seeming bid to discourage the high court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, claimed he anticipated the 70-year-old figure to be jailed in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal issues – the outcome of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 presidential election race – signified it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the quality of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells holding four dozen inmates: “That is virtually one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the prisoners and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the only voice speaking out ahead of the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.

Penning in a leading daily, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the greatest wrong in its record”.

“It represents an injustice that eats away the hearts of many Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Divided Public Opinion

It is possibly correct due to the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of many others who believe he should be imprisoned for conspiring to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the current president's allied group, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to receive dignified treatment – but respectful care behind bars. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long applauding the tough handling of convicts, had suddenly woken up to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has always asserted that basic rights are not for lawbreakers – opted to visit a penitentiary to find out what situations are really like,” he stated.

“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Potential Prison Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now holds about thousands of detainees, his expected location looks to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “particular” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular leader's home, about 12 miles away.

According to sources, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the area of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and additionally a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” the report indicated.

Political Responses

He criticized the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his outcome in the {

Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts

Wildlife biologist and conservationist with a passion for sloth research and environmental advocacy.