Jailhouse Shock: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He battled justice and justice prevailed.

Two months following getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears jail-bound.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who had been under residential detention in his mansion while a set of court processes and challenges unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, during growing talk that he will be transferred to a well-known maximum security prison.

Past Comments on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former soldier exhibited scant sympathy for the country's inmates.

“For what reason must we give those lowlifes a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get screwed, period. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Facility Debate

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an apparent attempt to prevent the judiciary from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he expected the elderly figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the result of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He cannot to cope if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he commented, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the standard of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating four dozen prisoners: “That is virtually one square metre per inmate.

“We conversed to the inmates and they protest, naturally, of the terrible meals,” added the senator.

Allies Speak Out

The senator isn't the sole person expressing views before the ex-leader's anticipated detention.

Writing in a prominent publication, one more backer, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“This is an unfairness that gnaws the souls of millions of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided Public Reaction

This could be true due to the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted jailing has also warmed the spirits of millions other people who believe he should be jailed for planning to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and even conspiring to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the current president's allied group, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to obtain respectful treatment – but respectful handling in prison. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the severe conditions of inmates, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that human rights were not for lawbreakers – chosen to tour a prison to discover what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“The former president is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.

Likely Incarceration Conditions

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about fourteen thousand detainees, his expected location looks to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “particular” prisoners known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are much more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the stunning official residence, around a short distance away.

As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 square meter veranda. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and also a small fridge in his cell as long as they were donated by his family,” information stated.

Political Reactions

Senator Lucas criticized the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {

George Ramos
George Ramos

Mira is a digital strategist with over a decade of experience in tech innovation and business transformation.