🔗 Share this article

He battled justice and the legal system won.

Two months after receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now looks jail-bound.

Anticipated Incarceration

The adjudicated plotter – who has been under house arrest in his residence while a set of judicial steps and challenges unfold – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid increasing talk that he will be sent to a infamous high-security penitentiary.

Previous Comments on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited minimal compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we provide these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be messed, period. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Debate

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, several of whom this week toured the prison in an obvious bid to discourage the judiciary from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he expected the elderly figure to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive problems – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “That’s practically one square meter per inmate.

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

Backers Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice speaking out prior to the ex-leader's expected detention.

Authoring in a leading daily, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its past”.

“This is an unfairness that erodes the spirits of many people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided General Opinion

That may be correct given the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. However his predicted jailing has also warmed the feelings of numerous individuals who believe he ought to be incarcerated for conspiring to block his successor from becoming president – and even plotting to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the current president's allied group, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain proper treatment – but proper care while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time praising the harsh conditions of inmates, had unexpectedly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that basic rights should not be for offenders – chosen to tour a jail to find out what situations are actually like,” he remarked.

“He is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, insulting treatment”.

Possible Prison Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 prisoners, his expected assigned facility seems to be a close prison for officers and other “particular” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are much more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro had while residing in the stunning presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

According to reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the dimensions of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 square meter restroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be permitted to have a television and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” the report indicated.

Ideological Comments

He criticized the talked-about plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his future in the {