Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars
He battled the law and justice won.
Sixty days following getting a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems headed to prison.
Expected Imprisonment
The found-guilty plotter – who's been subject to house arrest in his residence while a series of court processes and petitions play out – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a well-known maximum security facility.
Past Remarks on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the conservative ex- paratrooper exhibited little sympathy for the country's jailed individuals.
“What’s the need to offer those lowlifes a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”
Incarceration Location Discussion
Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, a group of four this week toured the complex in an apparent bid to discourage the supreme court from transferring him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he anticipated the septuagenarian figure to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe digestive ailments – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He will not be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells containing four dozen detainees: “It's virtually one square metre per prisoner.
“We talked to the prisoners and they complain, naturally, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.
Allies React
He is not the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.
Authoring in a prominent newspaper, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest political injustice in its past”.
“This is an injustice that gnaws the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Mixed Popular Response
This could be correct given the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his expected jailing has also gladdened the hearts of many other people who think he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to block his successor from becoming president – and additionally scheming to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the sitting president's political party, stated: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to get dignified treatment – but respectful treatment while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his personal jailer for his entire life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always claimed that civil liberties should not be for lawbreakers – decided to inspect a penitentiary to learn what circumstances are truly like,” he said.
“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, insulting treatment”.
Potential Jail Conditions
Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now contains about thousands of inmates, his more likely destination appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “special” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
His potential cell are much more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the stunning official residence, about 12 miles away.
According to information, the cell Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the area of vehicle spaces – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 130 square foot veranda. “He could be permitted to have a set and even a small fridge in his room as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” information indicated.
Partisan Reactions
Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his fate in the {