Prison Surprise: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He fought justice and the legal system triumphed.

Sixty days subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of judicial steps and appeals unfold – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the coming days, during increasing talk that he will be transferred to a notorious high-security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- soldier showed little mercy for Brazil’s prison population.

“Why should we give these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, period. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Facility Speculation

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an seeming attempt to dissuade the judiciary from banishing him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, said he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and feared his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious digestive issues – the result of a life-threatening knife attack during the last political campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells holding forty detainees: “That is almost one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, of course, of the horrible food,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views prior to the former president’s anticipated detention.

Penning in a major newspaper, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest wrong in its record”.

“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the souls of millions Brazilian citizens,” he stated.

Mixed Popular Response

That may be true given the considerable following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his expected jailing has also pleased the feelings of numerous other people who believe he deserves to be jailed for conspiring to stop his successor from becoming president – and even plotting to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the incumbent leader's political party, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain dignified handling – but proper care while incarcerated. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years celebrating the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties are not for offenders – opted to inspect a jail to find out what situations are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Likely Jail Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his probable assigned facility looks to be a close prison for officers and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while living in the spectacular presidential palace, around a short distance away.

According to reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be allowed to have a television and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his family,” the report suggested.

Political Responses

Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his outcome in the {

Briana Carter
Briana Carter

Seasoned casino strategist and writer with over a decade of experience in gaming analysis and player success stories.