Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison

He fought justice and justice prevailed.

Two months following being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Imminent Imprisonment

The adjudicated instigator – who had been subject to residential detention in his residence while a number of judicial steps and challenges play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, during increasing rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious high-security facility.

Historical Remarks on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right ex- soldier displayed minimal compassion for Brazil’s inmates.

“For what reason must we give those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They deserve to be messed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to end up behind bars, all you have to do is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Facility Speculation

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, several of whom this week inspected the complex in an apparent effort to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he predicted the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential political campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells holding forty inmates: “It's practically one square meter per inmate.

“We talked to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the horrible meals,” added the senator.

Backers React

The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views ahead of the one-time head of state's expected detention.

Authoring in a leading daily, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the hearts of countless of Brazilians,” he stated.

Divided Popular Response

It is possibly accurate due to the substantial backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also pleased the hearts of numerous individuals who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to stop his successor from taking power – and also conspiring to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a politician for the current administration's political party, said: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive dignified care – but proper handling behind bars. He must not continue being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time applauding the harsh treatment of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their rights. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that basic rights were not for offenders – decided to visit a jail to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“He is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, insulting treatment”.

Possible Incarceration Conditions

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable destination appears to be a nearby penitentiary for police officers and other “unique” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although still a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the spectacular leader's home, about a short distance away.

Based on information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the area of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “He could be permitted to have a TV and even a cooler in his room as long as they were provided by his family,” sources suggested.

Ideological Reactions

He denounced the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his fate in the {

Bryan Wilson
Bryan Wilson

Award-winning photographer and educator passionate about helping others find beauty through the lens.