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

He fought justice and justice triumphed.

Sixty days following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The found-guilty instigator – who has been subject to house arrest in his estate while a set of court processes and appeals unfold – is largely predicted to be jailed in the near future, amidst mounting speculation that he will be sent to a well-known top-security facility.

Previous Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- soldier exhibited little compassion for the country's prison population.

“What’s the need to provide those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They should just get screwed, period. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to wind up there, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Jail Destination Speculation

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week inspected the facility in an apparent bid to prevent the supreme court from transferring him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, stated he expected the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal ailments – the outcome of a life-threatening knife attack during the last election race – signified it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells accommodating four dozen prisoners: “That’s virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the horrible meals,” continued the senator.

Backers React

He is not the only voice voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's predicted detention.

Authoring in a major publication, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“This is an injustice that gnaws the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Public Response

This could be accurate given the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his expected incarceration has also warmed the spirits of many other people who think he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to prevent the elected leader from becoming president – and additionally plotting to have him assassinated.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's Workers’ party, said: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to get proper treatment – but respectful treatment in prison. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the severe conditions of convicts, had abruptly become aware to their rights. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that human rights should not be for offenders – decided to visit a prison to learn what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“The former president is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Potential Incarceration Conditions

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now houses about 14,000 detainees, his more likely assigned facility looks to be a close jail for law enforcement and other “special” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the stunning official residence, around a short distance away.

According to reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and contains a 130 square foot bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a TV and even a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his relatives,” the report suggested.

Political Comments

The lawmaker condemned the speculated proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {

Vickie Franklin
Vickie Franklin

Financial analyst specializing in precious metals with over a decade of market experience.