Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars

He fought the law and justice prevailed.

A couple of months following being handed a 27-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally seems jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The convicted plotter – who's been subject to residential detention in his estate while a series of court processes and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be jailed in the coming days, during growing talk that he will be sent to a well-known maximum security facility.

Previous Remarks on Inmates

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the conservative former military man displayed minimal sympathy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to finish behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Destination Speculation

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, several of whom this week visited the facility in an obvious attempt to dissuade the judiciary from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the outcome of a almost deadly knife attack during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He cannot to manage if they move him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he commented, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the standard of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding four dozen detainees: “That’s almost one meter squared per detainee.

“We talked to the convicts and they grumble, of course, of the terrible food,” added the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

The senator isn't the lone figure speaking out before the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.

Penning in a leading publication, one more backer, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the biggest unfairness in its record”.

“This is an wrong that gnaws the hearts of many people in Brazil,” he stated.

Mixed Public Reaction

It is possibly accurate considering the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. However his expected incarceration has also pleased the spirits of many other people who feel he should be incarcerated for conspiring to block the elected leader from becoming president – and additionally plotting to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the current president's political party, said: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to receive dignified handling – but dignified treatment while incarcerated. He cannot continue being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years applauding the severe treatment of prisoners, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly claimed that human rights are not for criminals – opted to tour a jail to learn what conditions are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, degrading treatment”.

Likely Jail Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his more likely destination seems to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are far more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular official residence, around a short distance away.

As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot veranda. “He could be permitted to have a TV and even a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his family,” the report indicated.

Partisan Reactions

The lawmaker criticized the rumoured plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his fate in the {

Melissa Barnes
Melissa Barnes

A gaming industry consultant with over 15 years of experience in slot machine technology and casino operations across Europe.