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

He fought justice and the legal system triumphed.

Sixty days subsequent to receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears headed to prison.

Expected Jailing

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been under house arrest in his residence while a set of legal procedures and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, amid increasing talk that he will be moved to a well-known maximum security penitentiary.

Past Statements on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the right-wing ex- soldier showed little compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to offer those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get screwed, end of story. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Facility Discussion

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an obvious bid to prevent the high court from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the elderly leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal ailments – the outcome of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 presidential election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also worried about packed cells and the standard of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells holding forty inmates: “It's almost one meter squared per inmate.

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

Supporters React

Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the former president’s anticipated imprisonment.

Penning in a prominent publication, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest wrong in its past”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the spirits of millions Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided Public Opinion

This could be correct given the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated jailing has also warmed the spirits of millions others who believe he ought to be jailed for conspiring to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and also scheming to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the sitting leader's political party, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. No one wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to receive dignified treatment – but proper care behind bars. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh conditions of inmates, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that human rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to visit a prison to learn what situations are truly like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.

Possible Prison Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of detainees, his probable location seems to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are far more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the impressive presidential palace, around 20 kilometers away.

Based on reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre restroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot veranda. “He could be allowed to have a TV and even a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources stated.

Partisan Responses

The lawmaker condemned the talked-about plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his outcome in the {

Rebekah Ferguson
Rebekah Ferguson

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in the online casino industry, specializing in slot mechanics and player behavior.