Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison
He battled justice and the legal system triumphed.
Sixty days after getting a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.
Expected Jailing
The convicted plotter – who's been under house arrest in his residence while a set of judicial steps and challenges proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, during mounting speculation that he will be moved to a infamous maximum security facility.
Previous Remarks on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the far-right ex- soldier showed minimal compassion for Brazil’s jailed individuals.
“Why should we give those dirtbags a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my opinion.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to finish there, all you have to do is not sexual assault, abduction or theft.”
Prison Facility Discussion
But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent bid to discourage the high court from banishing him there.
The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and feared his location could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal knife attack during the last election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he commented, who also worried about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells containing 40 inmates: “That is virtually one square metre per detainee.
“We conversed to the prisoners and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the horrible meals,” continued the senator.
Allies Voice Concerns
The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's expected detention.
Writing in a prominent newspaper, another ally, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to see “the largest wrong in its history”.
“It represents an wrong that gnaws the spirits of countless of Brazilians,” the former minister said.
Mixed General Response
That may be accurate due to the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his anticipated imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of millions others who feel he ought to be jailed for conspiring to stop the elected leader from taking power – and additionally plotting to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a representative for the incumbent leader's allied group, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to get proper treatment – but dignified handling behind bars. He can’t persist being his own prison warden for his whole life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have long praising the tough handling of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their privileges. “Recently has the far-right – which has repeatedly claimed that human rights were not for criminals – decided to visit a penitentiary to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he said.
“He is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, degrading handling”.
Potential Prison Environment
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about thousands of detainees, his expected assigned facility looks to be a close jail for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).
Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning presidential palace, around a short distance away.
Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the area of a couple of car spots – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his room as long as they were provided by his family,” the report indicated.
Ideological Comments
Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {