🔗 Share this article

He fought the law and justice prevailed.

Sixty days following being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Imminent Incarceration

The convicted coup-monger – who has been under residential detention in his residence while a series of judicial steps and petitions play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the near future, amid growing speculation that he will be sent to a infamous top-security prison.

Historical Comments on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the right-wing ex- paratrooper exhibited minimal compassion for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we provide those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up behind bars, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Jail Facility Debate

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week toured the facility in an apparent effort to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, claimed he anticipated the septuagenarian figure to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe digestive issues – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the quality of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating four dozen detainees: “That’s practically one square meter per inmate.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they complain, naturally, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers React

He is not the lone figure speaking out prior to the former president’s anticipated incarceration.

Authoring in a major newspaper, another ally, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to see “the greatest wrong in its history”.

“It represents an unfairness that erodes the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Opinion

That may be correct considering the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. Yet his anticipated jailing has also pleased the feelings of millions other people who feel he deserves to be jailed for planning to prevent the incoming president from assuming office – and also conspiring to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the current president's allied group, said: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to obtain respectful handling – but dignified treatment while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the tough conditions of prisoners, had suddenly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always claimed that civil liberties are not for criminals – chosen to inspect a jail to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he stated.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, demeaning handling”.

Likely Jail Facilities

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently holds about thousands of prisoners, his expected location seems to be a close prison for officers and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning official residence, approximately 12 miles away.

Based on sources, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the area of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and even a small fridge in his cell as long as they were donated by his relatives,” the report indicated.

Partisan Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {