Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He contested the law and the legal system won.
Two months subsequent to receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems headed to prison.
Expected Incarceration
The found-guilty instigator – who's been under house arrest in his estate while a set of court processes and petitions play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, during mounting talk that he will be sent to a notorious high-security penitentiary.
Historical Comments on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the right-wing ex- military man exhibited scant compassion for the country's prison population.
“Why should we offer those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They deserve to be messed, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”
Jail Destination Discussion
However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, several of whom this week toured the facility in an obvious bid to prevent the judiciary from transferring him there.
Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, claimed he expected the 70-year-old figure to be jailed in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut issues – the outcome of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the condition of inmate food.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells holding four dozen detainees: “That’s almost one meter squared per inmate.
“We talked to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.
Allies React
The senator isn't the only voice speaking out ahead of the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.
Authoring in a leading publication, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and alleged Brazil was about to see “the largest political injustice in its record”.
“It is an injustice that erodes the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.
Mixed General Response
This could be accurate considering the substantial backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. But his predicted jailing has also pleased the feelings of many individuals who think he ought to be imprisoned for plotting to stop the incoming president from taking power – and also conspiring to have him murdered.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the current leader's allied group, said: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive respectful handling – but respectful care while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the tough handling of prisoners, had suddenly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the far-right – which has repeatedly argued that civil liberties should not be for offenders – opted to tour a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.
“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.
Likely Jail Conditions
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his more likely location seems to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the spectacular presidential palace, about 12 miles away.
As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – roughly the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a shower and a 12 square meter terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his relatives,” the report suggested.
Political Comments
The lawmaker criticized the talked-about proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {