Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison
He contested justice and the legal system won.
Sixty days subsequent to getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.
Imminent Imprisonment
The convicted instigator – who's been under house arrest in his residence while a series of judicial steps and challenges play out – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the next few days, amid increasing speculation that he will be sent to a infamous top-security facility.
Previous Statements on Inmates
Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right ex- soldier exhibited scant compassion for the country's inmates.
“Why should we provide these scoundrels a good life?” he once mused. “They deserve to be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”
Incarceration Facility Speculation
But the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, several of whom this week visited the prison in an seeming attempt to discourage the high court from sending him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, claimed he anticipated the elderly politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal ailments – the outcome of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is highly critical. He cannot to cope if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the quality of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells accommodating forty inmates: “It's practically one meter squared per inmate.
“We spoke to the prisoners and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” remarked the senator.
Backers Voice Concerns
Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted imprisonment.
Writing in a leading publication, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its record”.
“It is an injustice that erodes the hearts of countless of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.
Divided General Response
This could be accurate given the substantial backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of millions other people who feel he deserves to be jailed for planning to block his successor from becoming president – and additionally plotting to have him murdered.
The lawmaker, a congressman for the current leader's political party, stated: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to get proper care – but proper treatment in prison. He can’t continue being his own prison warden for his entire life.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time applauding the severe handling of inmates, had suddenly woken up to their entitlements. “Only now has the extreme right – which has consistently claimed that basic rights should not be for offenders – opted to visit a prison to learn what conditions are truly like,” he said.
“The former president is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, demeaning treatment”.
Possible Incarceration Facilities
Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about 14,000 prisoners, his more likely location appears to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while living in the stunning presidential palace, about a short distance away.
Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – about the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter balcony. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a TV and even a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources suggested.
Ideological Reactions
Senator Lucas criticized the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his future in the {