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

He battled justice and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months after receiving a 27-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been living under residential detention in his mansion while a set of court processes and petitions play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the near future, amid increasing rumors that he will be moved to a infamous top-security prison.

Previous Statements on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former military man displayed scant mercy for Brazil’s inmates.

“For what reason must we give these scoundrels a good life?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, end of story. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to wind up behind bars, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Location Discussion

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week visited the complex in an apparent effort to dissuade the high court from banishing him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, claimed he expected the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating forty detainees: “That’s practically one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the horrible food,” remarked the senator.

Backers React

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions prior to the former president’s predicted detention.

Penning in a prominent daily, a different supporter, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the greatest unfairness in its record”.

“It represents an injustice that eats away the hearts of countless people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Varied General Response

This could be accurate due to the significant following Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated imprisonment has also warmed the hearts of millions others who think he deserves to be jailed for planning to block his successor from assuming office – and also scheming to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the current president's allied group, stated: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to get proper treatment – but proper handling behind bars. He must not continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time applauding the tough conditions of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently claimed that civil liberties are not for criminals – chosen to visit a penitentiary to discover what situations are actually like,” he stated.

“He is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.

Likely Incarceration Environment

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 prisoners, his probable destination seems to be a nearby penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the impressive presidential palace, around a short distance away.

Based on reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a shower and a 12 square meter balcony. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” sources suggested.

Partisan Comments

The lawmaker denounced the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his future in the {

Wendy Clark
Wendy Clark

A seasoned travel writer and cultural anthropologist with over a decade of experience exploring remote destinations and documenting unique traditions.