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

He contested justice and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months following getting a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro now looks headed to prison.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The convicted plotter – who's been living under residential detention in his mansion while a series of court processes and petitions unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the next few days, amid growing talk that he will be sent to a well-known high-security penitentiary.

Past Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the conservative ex- military man showed little sympathy for the country's inmates.

“For what reason must we provide those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They should just get screwed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Speculation

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, a group of four this week visited the complex in an seeming effort to discourage the high court from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal knife attack during the last election race – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also worried about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells containing forty inmates: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We talked to the prisoners and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the awful cuisine,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the sole person expressing views before the one-time head of state's anticipated imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent newspaper, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its record”.

“It represents an injustice that erodes the souls of millions people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Divided Popular Opinion

That may be correct considering the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted incarceration has also warmed the spirits of millions other people who think he should be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from becoming president – and also plotting to have him assassinated.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the incumbent president's Workers’ party, said: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to get proper care – but respectful handling in prison. He cannot continue being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years praising the tough treatment of inmates, had abruptly become aware to their rights. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that civil liberties should not be for criminals – opted to inspect a prison to discover what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, degrading conduct”.

Likely Incarceration Facilities

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about 14,000 detainees, his more likely destination seems to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “particular” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive presidential palace, around 12 miles away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 130 square foot restroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a TV and also a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources indicated.

Ideological Comments

The lawmaker criticized the speculated proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his fate in the {

Christopher Vega
Christopher Vega

A seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in reviewing online casinos and providing strategic insights for players.