Prison Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He battled justice and the law triumphed.
Two months after being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems headed to prison.
Expected Incarceration
The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been under home confinement in his residence while a series of legal procedures and appeals proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, amid increasing speculation that he will be sent to a notorious top-security prison.
Historical Remarks on Convicts
Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing ex- military man displayed minimal compassion for the country's prison population.
“For what reason must we provide these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They deserve to be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”
Prison Location Discussion
However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week toured the prison in an apparent attempt to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.
The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, stated he predicted the elderly politician to be jailed in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute gut ailments – the consequence of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the condition of jail cuisine.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells containing forty inmates: “That’s virtually one square metre per prisoner.
“We conversed to the convicts and they complain, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.
Backers React
He is not the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's anticipated imprisonment.
Writing in a major publication, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the largest political injustice in its past”.
“It represents an wrong that erodes the hearts of countless of Brazilians,” the former minister said.
Divided General Reaction
This could be accurate due to the considerable support Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. However his predicted jailing has also gladdened the feelings of numerous other people who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from becoming president – and even conspiring to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's allied group, commented: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get respectful handling – but respectful care behind bars. He cannot continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the severe treatment of prisoners, had suddenly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly asserted that human rights are not for lawbreakers – chosen to visit a penitentiary to find out what situations are really like,” he said.
“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, insulting treatment”.
Possible Incarceration Facilities
In spite of speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of detainees, his probable location appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” detainees called Papudinha (Little Papuda).
The accommodations are much more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive official residence, around 12 miles away.
According to sources, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – roughly the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “He could be permitted to have a set and also a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his family,” sources stated.
Political Responses
The lawmaker condemned the talked-about plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his outcome in the {