Jailhouse Shock: The Ex-President Bolsonaro Confronts Life Behind Bars

He fought the law and the law triumphed.

Sixty days after being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems destined for incarceration.

Expected Incarceration

The adjudicated plotter – who has been subject to home confinement in his estate while a series of judicial steps and petitions play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the next few days, during growing speculation that he will be moved to a notorious maximum security penitentiary.

Past Remarks on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing ex- soldier displayed little mercy for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we provide these dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up in prison, the only thing required is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Jail Destination Discussion

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week visited the facility in an obvious effort to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, said he anticipated the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the outcome of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He won’t be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “That’s virtually one meter squared per detainee.

“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.

Backers Speak Out

Lucas is not the only voice expressing views before the ex-leader's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a major publication, one more backer, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the biggest unfairness in its history”.

“It represents an wrong that eats away the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Divided General Opinion

This could be true due to the considerable following Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. However his predicted imprisonment has also pleased the feelings of many other people who feel he should be imprisoned for planning to stop the incoming president from becoming president – and also plotting to have him assassinated.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the current president's allied group, stated: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain respectful handling – but dignified treatment while incarcerated. He cannot persist being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have long celebrating the severe conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Only now has the extreme right – which has consistently claimed that human rights are not for lawbreakers – opted to visit a penitentiary to learn what situations are really like,” he said.

“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, degrading treatment”.

Possible Jail Conditions

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about 14,000 detainees, his more likely assigned facility appears to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the impressive leader's home, around 12 miles away.

Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources indicated.

Political Responses

He condemned 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 oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his fate in the {

Adam Perry
Adam Perry

A seasoned digital artist and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in UI/UX design and emerging technologies.