Prison Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison

He fought the law and the law triumphed.

Two months subsequent to getting a 27-year sentence for trying to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been living under residential detention in his mansion while a series of court processes and appeals play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, during mounting rumors that he will be sent to a infamous maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right ex- military man exhibited little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we offer these dirtbags a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, period. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish there, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Destination Debate

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week toured the complex in an seeming bid to prevent the supreme court from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian figure to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and feared his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal ailments – the outcome of a life-threatening assault during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing forty detainees: “That is virtually one meter squared per inmate.

“We spoke to the convicts and they protest, of course, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Allies Speak Out

He is not the lone figure voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's expected detention.

Writing in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its past”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the souls of many of Brazilians,” he stated.

Divided Public Opinion

It is possibly accurate considering the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. However his expected jailing has also warmed the hearts of many others who think he should be jailed for plotting to stop the incoming president from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the current president's Workers’ party, commented: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to get respectful care – but respectful treatment behind bars. He cannot continue being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years celebrating the tough conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that civil liberties should not be for offenders – decided to visit a penitentiary to find out what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, demeaning conduct”.

Likely Jail Environment

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently houses about 14,000 detainees, his more likely destination seems to be a adjacent jail for officers and other “special” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are much more adequate than those in the larger jail, although still a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular official residence, around 20 kilometers away.

According to information, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter veranda. “He could be authorized to have a television and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Ideological Reactions

Senator Lucas condemned the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his outcome in the {