🔗 Share this article

He fought the legal system and justice won.

Sixty days after getting a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Expected Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who had been under home confinement in his estate while a series of legal procedures and challenges play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid mounting rumors that he will be moved to a infamous top-security facility.

Past Comments on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing ex- military man displayed minimal sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to give these dirtbags a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to wind up there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Debate

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an obvious bid to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, stated he expected the 70-year-old figure to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal ailments – the consequence of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His health is highly critical. He won’t be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” said the senator, who also worried about packed cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding 40 prisoners: “That is practically one meter squared per detainee.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they complain, of course, of the terrible cuisine,” added the senator.

Backers React

He is not the only voice speaking out before the ex-leader's expected incarceration.

Authoring in a major daily, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to see “the biggest wrong in its history”.

“It is an unfairness that gnaws the hearts of countless people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Varied Popular Opinion

That may be correct due to the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated jailing has also pleased the spirits of millions others who believe he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to stop the incoming president from taking power – and also scheming to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the sitting administration's allied group, said: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive respectful care – but dignified handling in prison. He can’t persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the severe treatment of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their privileges. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has consistently claimed that human rights are not for criminals – decided to tour a jail to discover what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, insulting treatment”.

Possible Incarceration Conditions

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently holds about 14,000 detainees, his more likely assigned facility appears to be a nearby penitentiary for officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although still a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro had while residing in the spectacular presidential palace, around a short distance away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 sq metre restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and additionally a minibar in his room as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources stated.

Ideological Comments

Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {