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

He fought justice and the law prevailed.

Sixty days after getting a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems jail-bound.

Anticipated Incarceration

The found-guilty instigator – who had been living under home confinement in his mansion while a number of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, during mounting talk that he will be sent to a notorious top-security prison.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- paratrooper displayed minimal compassion for the country's jailed individuals.

“Why should we give those dirtbags a good life?” he previously wondered. “They deserve to be messed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to finish behind bars, all you have to do is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Facility Debate

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, a group of four this week visited the prison in an obvious effort to discourage the supreme court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive issues – the result of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – meant it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is highly critical. He won’t be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells holding four dozen inmates: “That’s practically one square metre per detainee.

“We spoke to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the terrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers React

Lucas is not the only voice speaking out prior to the ex-leader's predicted detention.

Authoring in a major publication, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and alleged Brazil was about to see “the greatest unfairness in its history”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Opinion

This could be accurate due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his expected incarceration has also warmed the hearts of numerous other people who believe he should be incarcerated for planning to prevent the elected leader from becoming president – and also scheming to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the current leader's allied group, commented: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to receive dignified treatment – but proper treatment in prison. He cannot continue being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have long praising the harsh handling of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has consistently argued that civil liberties should not be for offenders – opted to visit a penitentiary to discover what situations are truly like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, insulting treatment”.

Possible Jail Environment

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his more likely assigned facility looks to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” prisoners called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the spectacular official residence, about a short distance away.

As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – about the area of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a TV and also a cooler in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” the report indicated.

Partisan Responses

He condemned the rumoured idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his future in the {

Charles Shields
Charles Shields

A software engineer and retro computing enthusiast with over 15 years of experience restoring vintage computers and documenting tech history.