Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison
He contested the legal system and the law won.
Two months following being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems jail-bound.
Anticipated Incarceration
The convicted plotter – who's been under house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and challenges proceed – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, amidst increasing rumors that he will be sent to a notorious high-security penitentiary.
Previous Statements on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the far-right ex- soldier displayed little mercy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.
“What’s the need to provide those scoundrels a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get fucked, period. That's my opinion.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish there, the only thing required is not rape, abduction or theft.”
Jail Facility Debate
But the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week visited the complex in an obvious effort to discourage the high court from banishing him there.
Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, claimed he anticipated the elderly figure to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal ailments – the consequence of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the condition of prison meals.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “That is virtually one square meter per detainee.
“We spoke to the inmates and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” remarked the senator.
Backers Voice Concerns
He is not the lone figure expressing views prior to the ex-leader's expected incarceration.
Penning in a major daily, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest unfairness in its record”.
“It is an unfairness that gnaws the spirits of countless people in Brazil,” the former minister said.
Divided General Response
That may be true due to the considerable following Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. However his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the feelings of numerous individuals who believe he should be incarcerated for conspiring to prevent the incoming president from assuming office – and also conspiring to have him assassinated.
The lawmaker, a politician for the current administration's Workers’ party, said: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to get dignified handling – but respectful care while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh handling of convicts, had abruptly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that basic rights are not for offenders – decided to visit a penitentiary to learn what conditions are actually like,” he said.
“He is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, insulting handling”.
Possible Prison Environment
Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about fourteen thousand prisoners, his more likely location looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for officers and other “particular” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
His potential cell are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the spectacular official residence, approximately a short distance away.
According to information, the room Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 130 square foot balcony. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a set and also a small fridge in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” the report indicated.
Ideological Comments
Senator Lucas denounced the speculated idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {