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

He battled justice and justice won.

Sixty days after receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks headed to prison.

Anticipated Incarceration

The convicted coup-monger – who has been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and challenges unfold – is widely expected to be jailed in the next few days, amidst mounting talk that he will be sent to a well-known maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Comments on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the conservative ex- paratrooper showed minimal compassion for the country's prison population.

“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, end of story. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”

Prison Destination Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, a group of four this week visited the prison in an seeming bid to dissuade the judiciary from transferring him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, said he anticipated the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and worried his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal problems – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He won’t be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the condition of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “It's almost one square meter per detainee.

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

Backers Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a leading newspaper, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest unfairness in its record”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the hearts of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed General Reaction

That may be correct considering the significant support Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his expected imprisonment has also warmed the hearts of many individuals who believe he ought to be jailed for planning to block his successor from becoming president – and additionally scheming to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a politician for the current administration's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get respectful treatment – but dignified handling in prison. He can’t persist being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time applauding the harsh treatment of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that human rights were not for criminals – opted to visit a penitentiary to discover what circumstances are really like,” he said.

“The former president is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning handling”.

Possible Prison Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 inmates, his probable assigned facility looks to be a close prison for police officers and other “special” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro had while residing in the spectacular presidential palace, about a short distance away.

As per information, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter restroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre balcony. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and even a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” sources indicated.

Political Reactions

The lawmaker denounced the speculated idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his future in the {