Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He contested the law and justice prevailed.

Two months following receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The adjudicated instigator – who has been subject to home confinement in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the near future, amidst mounting rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security penitentiary.

Historical Remarks on Inmates

During Bolsonaro’s long political career, the far-right former paratrooper displayed little compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we provide these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They deserve to be screwed, end of story. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to finish there, you simply need is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Location Speculation

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week toured the prison in an apparent bid to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the septuagenarian leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the last political campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells accommodating forty prisoners: “That’s virtually one meter squared per inmate.

“We conversed to the inmates and they grumble, of course, of the terrible food,” remarked the senator.

Supporters React

Lucas is not the lone figure speaking out ahead of the ex-leader's anticipated detention.

Penning in a prominent publication, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to see “the greatest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the souls of many people in Brazil,” he stated.

Divided Popular Opinion

This could be accurate given the substantial backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. However his anticipated jailing has also warmed the hearts of millions individuals who believe he should be incarcerated for planning to block the elected leader from becoming president – and also plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting president's Workers’ party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to receive respectful treatment – but proper care while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have long praising the harsh handling of inmates, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always asserted that civil liberties are not for offenders – chosen to inspect a jail to find out what situations are really like,” he said.

“The former president is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.

Potential Prison Environment

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently holds about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a nearby prison for officers and other “unique” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the stunning leader's home, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre restroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his room as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Political Responses

The lawmaker criticized the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {

Teresa Sanchez
Teresa Sanchez

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering esports and industry trends.