Prison Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars

He contested justice and the law won.

A couple of months subsequent to receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems headed to prison.

Expected Incarceration

The found-guilty coup-monger – who had been subject to residential detention in his estate while a set of legal procedures and challenges unfold – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, during growing speculation that he will be moved to a infamous high-security penitentiary.

Historical Remarks on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right former military man displayed minimal compassion for Brazil’s inmates.

“What’s the need to offer those scoundrels a good life?” he once mused. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up there, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Destination Discussion

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, a group of four this week visited the complex in an apparent bid to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he predicted the elderly leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute digestive problems – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the last election race – signified it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He won’t be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It will be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells holding 40 detainees: “That’s almost one square meter per detainee.

“We spoke to the inmates and they protest, naturally, of the awful food,” added the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the former president’s expected incarceration.

Penning in a prominent publication, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to see “the greatest unfairness in its past”.

“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the spirits of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided Public Opinion

This could be correct considering the substantial support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his anticipated incarceration has also warmed the spirits of numerous others who believe he should be imprisoned for conspiring to block the elected leader from assuming office – and also scheming to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, said: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to get dignified treatment – but dignified handling in prison. He cannot carry on being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the severe conditions of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Recently has the far-right – which has always asserted that human rights should not be for criminals – opted to inspect a jail to learn what conditions are really like,” he said.

“He is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, degrading conduct”.

Likely Jail Environment

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 inmates, his probable destination appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for officers and other “special” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more adequate than those in the main prison, although still a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the stunning presidential palace, around 12 miles away.

As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions 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 authorized to have a set and even a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” sources suggested.

Ideological Comments

The lawmaker denounced the rumoured plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {

James Humphrey
James Humphrey

A tech enthusiast and software developer with over a decade of experience in AI and web technologies, passionate about sharing knowledge.