Prison Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison

He fought the law and the legal system won.

Two months subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “destroy” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now looks headed to prison.

Anticipated Incarceration

The convicted plotter – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of court processes and challenges play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid mounting talk that he will be moved to a notorious top-security prison.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited scant sympathy for the country's prison population.

“Why should we provide those lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be messed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to finish in prison, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Location Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week inspected the facility in an obvious attempt to discourage the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, said he predicted the elderly politician to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal issues – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 election race – meant it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells containing forty prisoners: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they complain, of course, of the horrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the only voice speaking out before the former president’s expected detention.

Writing in a leading daily, a different supporter, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and claimed Brazil was about to see “the largest political injustice in its history”.

“This is an injustice that eats away the hearts of countless Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Divided General Reaction

This could be accurate given the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. But his predicted imprisonment has also warmed the spirits of numerous other people who feel he deserves to be jailed for plotting to prevent the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting president's allied group, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to get proper treatment – but proper handling while incarcerated. He must not persist being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have long applauding the tough handling of inmates, had unexpectedly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights are not for lawbreakers – decided to inspect a prison to learn what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, degrading treatment”.

Likely Prison Environment

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 prisoners, his expected assigned facility looks to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning presidential palace, about 12 miles away.

As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 130 square foot restroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot balcony. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a set and even a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources stated.

Ideological Responses

The lawmaker condemned the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {

Justin Manning
Justin Manning

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in casino strategy development and player psychology.