Prison Surprise: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He battled the legal system and the law won.

Sixty days following being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The found-guilty plotter – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a number of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the near future, during increasing speculation that he will be moved to a notorious top-security facility.

Historical Comments on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the conservative former paratrooper exhibited scant compassion for the country's prison population.

“Why should we offer these lowlifes a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, end of story. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to end up there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Discussion

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week toured the prison in an apparent attempt to discourage the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, said he expected the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the consequence of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells containing 40 inmates: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We talked to the inmates and they protest, of course, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the ex-leader's expected detention.

Authoring in a major publication, one more backer, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the spirits of countless Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Varied General Reaction

That may be true given the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his expected incarceration has also pleased the spirits of millions others who believe he should be jailed for conspiring to stop the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the sitting administration's political party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. No one wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain dignified treatment – but proper handling in prison. He can’t continue being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have long praising the harsh treatment of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently claimed that civil liberties are not for offenders – opted to visit a jail to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, insulting conduct”.

Likely Jail Facilities

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his more likely destination looks to be a close penitentiary for officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the impressive presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.

Based on sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 130 square foot restroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter terrace. “He could be permitted to have a television and also a minibar in his room as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information indicated.

Partisan Comments

He denounced the speculated plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {