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

He fought justice and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months subsequent to getting a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks headed to prison.

Expected Jailing

The convicted instigator – who has been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a number of court processes and petitions play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the coming days, during growing speculation that he will be sent to a well-known top-security penitentiary.

Past Remarks on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the far-right former military man exhibited little sympathy for the country's inmates.

“What’s the need to provide those dirtbags a easy time?” he once pondered. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Speculation

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, four of whom this week toured the prison in an obvious attempt to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, said he predicted the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal problems – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 political campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is very grave. He cannot to cope if they take him to Papuda … It will be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells accommodating forty prisoners: “That is virtually one square metre per prisoner.

“We talked to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the awful food,” continued the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the sole person speaking out before the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a prominent daily, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the greatest unfairness in its history”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the spirits of countless of Brazilians,” he stated.

Divided General Reaction

This could be true considering the substantial backing Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. However his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the feelings of numerous other people who believe he ought to be jailed for plotting to stop his successor from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the sitting leader's allied group, commented: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to get proper care – but proper handling behind bars. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the harsh treatment of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always asserted that basic rights are not for lawbreakers – chosen to inspect a penitentiary to discover what situations are really like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Potential Jail Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently holds about fourteen thousand prisoners, his probable destination looks to be a close prison for officers and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are much more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.

Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 130 square foot restroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot balcony. “He could be permitted to have a television and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources stated.

Partisan Comments

The lawmaker criticized the speculated proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {