Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He contested justice and the law triumphed.

Two months after getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been living under home confinement in his mansion while a series of judicial steps and petitions proceed – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the coming days, during growing speculation that he will be moved to a well-known top-security prison.

Past Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the conservative ex- paratrooper showed scant compassion for the country's prison population.

“What’s the need to give those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to end up there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Jail Facility Speculation

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, a group of four this week toured the prison in an seeming effort to discourage the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, stated he expected the 70-year-old figure to be jailed in the coming fortnight and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut problems – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the last election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells holding four dozen inmates: “It's virtually one meter squared per detainee.

“We talked to the prisoners and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

He is not the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's predicted detention.

Penning in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the largest unfairness in its past”.

“It represents an unfairness that erodes the souls of millions people in Brazil,” he stated.

Divided Popular Opinion

It is possibly accurate considering the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the spirits of many others who believe he ought to be incarcerated for conspiring to stop the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally scheming to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's political party, said: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to receive respectful care – but respectful handling while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time applauding the severe treatment of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their rights. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that human rights were not for criminals – decided to tour a jail to discover what situations are actually like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning conduct”.

Potential Prison Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his expected assigned facility seems to be a adjacent jail for law enforcement and other “special” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular official residence, about 20 kilometers away.

Based on sources, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – about the area of two parking spaces – and features a 12 sq metre restroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “He could be allowed to have a TV and also a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” sources stated.

Ideological Responses

Senator Lucas condemned the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his fate in the {

Matthew Rosales
Matthew Rosales

A Berlin-based journalist and cultural analyst with over a decade of experience covering international affairs and social trends.