Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison

He fought the law and the legal system prevailed.

Sixty days subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro now looks jail-bound.

Anticipated Jailing

The found-guilty instigator – who's been subject to residential detention in his estate while a number of court processes and petitions proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, amid growing talk that he will be transferred to a infamous high-security prison.

Historical Statements on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the far-right ex- soldier exhibited scant sympathy for the country's prison population.

“Why should we give those lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to end up there, you simply need is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Facility Discussion

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, four of whom this week visited the prison in an apparent attempt to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, said he expected the elderly figure to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious gut problems – the consequence of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “That is almost one square metre per detainee.

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

Supporters Voice Concerns

He is not the only voice expressing views before the former president’s expected imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the souls of millions Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Mixed General Reaction

It is possibly accurate due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the hearts of numerous other people who think he ought to be jailed for plotting to block the incoming president from taking power – and also conspiring to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the current president's Workers’ party, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain dignified handling – but respectful treatment in prison. He must not continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh conditions of convicts, had suddenly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that basic rights were not for lawbreakers – decided to visit a jail to learn what conditions are actually like,” he remarked.

“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, demeaning treatment”.

Potential Incarceration Facilities

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of prisoners, his more likely destination looks to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “unique” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the spectacular presidential palace, around 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the cell Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 130 square foot balcony. “He could be authorized to have a set and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” sources indicated.

Ideological Comments

Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his future in the {

David Alexander
David Alexander

Elara Vance is an investigative journalist with over a decade of experience covering international affairs and political developments across Europe.