Jailhouse Shock: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars
He fought the legal system and the law won.
Two months subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now looks headed to prison.
Anticipated Jailing
The adjudicated instigator – who had been subject to residential detention in his mansion while a series of judicial steps and appeals unfold – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a well-known maximum security facility.
Historical Statements on Convicts
During Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- soldier exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.
“What’s the need to offer these scoundrels a good life?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish there, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”
Prison Destination Debate
Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an obvious bid to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, stated he predicted the elderly politician to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal stabbing during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating forty inmates: “It's virtually one meter squared per prisoner.
“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, naturally, of the awful food,” continued the senator.
Allies Voice Concerns
He is not the sole person expressing views ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted imprisonment.
Penning in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its past”.
“This is an injustice that eats away the souls of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.
Varied General Response
It is possibly accurate given the substantial backing Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted incarceration has also pleased the feelings of many other people who think he should be jailed for plotting to prevent the incoming president from becoming president – and also plotting to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent president's Workers’ party, said: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get dignified handling – but respectful care in prison. He can’t carry on being his own prison warden for his whole life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years applauding the severe handling of convicts, had unexpectedly become aware to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly claimed that basic rights should not be for offenders – decided to tour a prison to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he stated.
“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, degrading conduct”.
Potential Jail Environment
Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about thousands of prisoners, his more likely destination looks to be a close penitentiary for officers and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the spectacular official residence, about 20 kilometers away.
According to information, the room Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a bathing area and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be allowed to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” the report indicated.
Political Comments
He denounced the speculated idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his fate in the {