Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison
He battled justice and the legal system prevailed.
A couple of months subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears jail-bound.
Imminent Incarceration
The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been under house arrest in his estate while a number of court processes and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the next few days, during mounting speculation that he will be sent to a notorious maximum security prison.
Historical Remarks on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the conservative former paratrooper showed little sympathy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.
“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a good life?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up in prison, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or theft.”
Jail Destination Speculation
But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent bid to discourage the supreme court from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the consequence of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential political campaign – meant it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he commented, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen inmates: “That is virtually one square metre per detainee.
“We talked to the convicts and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” remarked the senator.
Supporters React
Lucas is not the sole person voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's anticipated imprisonment.
Authoring in a major publication, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its record”.
“This is an unfairness that gnaws the souls of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.
Divided Popular Response
This could be accurate given the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated jailing has also gladdened the hearts of millions individuals who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for plotting to stop the elected leader from taking power – and also scheming to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's allied group, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to obtain respectful care – but proper care in prison. He can’t carry on being his own prison warden for his entire life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the severe conditions of prisoners, had unexpectedly woken up to their privileges. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently claimed that basic rights are not for criminals – opted to tour a prison to discover what conditions are truly like,” he stated.
“Bolsonaro is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning treatment”.
Possible Jail Facilities
In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 inmates, his more likely location appears to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while living in the spectacular official residence, about a short distance away.
Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a cooler in his room as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” the report indicated.
Partisan Responses
Senator Lucas criticized the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his future in the {