Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison
He battled the law and the legal system won.
Sixty days after receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “annihilate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears jail-bound.
Anticipated Jailing
The adjudicated instigator – who had been living under residential detention in his estate while a set of judicial steps and petitions play out – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the near future, amidst increasing rumors that he will be moved to a well-known high-security prison.
Historical Statements on Convicts
During Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the right-wing ex- military man showed minimal compassion for the country's inmates.
“Why should we give those dirtbags a good life?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”
At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to end up in prison, you simply need is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”
Prison Destination Speculation
Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, several of whom this week toured the facility in an apparent effort to dissuade the supreme court from transferring him there.
Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, stated he predicted the elderly politician to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and was concerned his location could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut issues – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of inmate food.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen inmates: “That’s practically one meter squared per inmate.
“We talked to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the terrible meals,” added the senator.
Backers React
He is not the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.
Authoring in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its past”.
“This is an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions of Brazilians,” the former minister said.
Divided Public Opinion
That may be correct given the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. But his expected incarceration has also pleased the hearts of millions other people who think he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to stop the elected leader from taking power – and even plotting to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the sitting president's Workers’ party, stated: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to obtain respectful handling – but respectful treatment behind bars. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long praising the tough handling of convicts, had abruptly become aware to their privileges. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always claimed that basic rights should not be for lawbreakers – opted to tour a prison to discover what conditions are really like,” he remarked.
“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, degrading conduct”.
Potential Prison Environment
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about 14,000 inmates, his more likely location seems to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “special” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
Its cells are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the spectacular presidential palace, around 12 miles away.
According to information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – roughly the size of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre terrace. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a television and additionally a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information stated.
Ideological Responses
The lawmaker criticized the rumoured plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his outcome in the {