Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison

He battled the legal system and justice prevailed.

Sixty days following being handed a 27-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The convicted instigator – who had been under house arrest in his estate while a number of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, amid growing rumors that he will be sent to a notorious high-security facility.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the right-wing former paratrooper displayed scant mercy for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to offer these lowlifes a good life?” he once mused. “They deserve to be screwed, end of story. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, a group of four this week visited the complex in an apparent bid to prevent the supreme court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he expected the septuagenarian politician to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe gut issues – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells containing 40 prisoners: “That’s almost one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the horrible meals,” added the senator.

Allies React

He is not the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.

Writing in a major publication, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“It represents an wrong that eats away the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided General Opinion

It is possibly accurate due to the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his predicted jailing has also gladdened the hearts of numerous others who feel he should be incarcerated for planning to block the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally scheming to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the current administration's allied group, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to get respectful treatment – but dignified care in prison. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the harsh handling of inmates, had abruptly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the far-right – which has consistently argued that basic rights should not be for criminals – decided to visit a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“He is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning handling”.

Likely Prison Conditions

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about 14,000 inmates, his probable destination appears to be a nearby jail for officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive leader's home, around a short distance away.

Based on reports, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and includes a 130 square foot bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and additionally a cooler in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” the report stated.

Partisan Responses

The lawmaker criticized the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his fate in the {