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

He fought the law and justice won.

Two months subsequent to being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.

Imminent Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who's been under residential detention in his residence while a set of court processes and appeals play out – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, amid growing talk that he will be moved to a infamous top-security penitentiary.

Past Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the conservative ex- paratrooper displayed little sympathy for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we give those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up in prison, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Destination Debate

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week visited the complex in an apparent bid to dissuade the judiciary from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, said he expected the 70-year-old figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe gut ailments – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He won’t be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing 40 prisoners: “It's virtually one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the inmates and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

He is not the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Penning in a prominent daily, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“This is an injustice that erodes the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied General Reaction

That may be accurate considering the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of numerous individuals who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to block the incoming president from assuming office – and additionally plotting to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the sitting president's Workers’ party, stated: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive proper handling – but proper care while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the severe conditions of inmates, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that human rights were not for offenders – opted to tour a jail to discover what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, demeaning treatment”.

Likely Prison Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now houses about fourteen thousand detainees, his more likely location looks to be a adjacent prison for police officers and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a set and additionally a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” information indicated.

Political Reactions

He condemned the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his fate in the {

Aaron Roberts
Aaron Roberts

A seasoned casino strategist with over a decade of experience in gaming analysis and player psychology.