Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison
He fought the legal system and justice won.
Two months following getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears jail-bound.
Imminent Imprisonment
The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been living under home confinement in his estate while a set of legal procedures and challenges proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, amid mounting talk that he will be transferred to a notorious top-security penitentiary.
Historical Remarks on Prisoners
Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the right-wing ex- paratrooper exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.
“Why should we provide those lowlifes a easy time?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be fucked, period. That’s what I reckon.”
At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”
Prison Destination Speculation
Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week toured the prison in an apparent bid to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he expected the septuagenarian politician to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and worried his destination could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal issues – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding forty prisoners: “It's practically one square metre per inmate.
“We conversed to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.
Backers Voice Concerns
The senator isn't the only voice expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's predicted imprisonment.
Writing in a prominent daily, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the greatest political injustice in its history”.
“It is an unfairness that gnaws the hearts of countless of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.
Varied Popular Opinion
This could be correct considering the substantial backing Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. But his anticipated imprisonment has also gladdened the feelings of numerous individuals who think he ought to be imprisoned for conspiring to stop the incoming president from taking power – and even scheming to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a representative for the current leader's allied group, stated: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to receive dignified care – but dignified handling in prison. He can’t persist being his personal jailer for his whole life.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the tough conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that basic rights should not be for lawbreakers – opted to inspect a prison to learn what situations are actually like,” he remarked.
“He is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, insulting handling”.
Likely Prison Conditions
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about thousands of prisoners, his probable location seems to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
His potential cell are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning official residence, around 12 miles away.
Based on sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – about the area of two parking spaces – and contains a 130 square foot bathroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter veranda. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a set and even a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources stated.
Political Comments
Senator Lucas denounced the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his fate in the {