🔗 Share this article

He battled the legal system and justice triumphed.

Sixty days subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks destined for incarceration.

Imminent Jailing

The adjudicated plotter – who has been living under house arrest in his residence while a series of court processes and appeals unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, during growing speculation that he will be moved to a well-known top-security facility.

Past Remarks on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right former military man showed minimal mercy for the country's inmates.

“Why should we offer these lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Location Speculation

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an apparent attempt to discourage the judiciary from sending him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, stated he predicted the elderly leader to be jailed in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal knife attack during the last election race – meant it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He cannot to manage if they send him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen inmates: “It's almost one square meter per prisoner.

“We talked to the prisoners and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Supporters React

The senator isn't the only voice expressing views ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent daily, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its past”.

“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Divided Public Reaction

That may be accurate considering the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of numerous others who think he deserves to be incarcerated for planning to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and even plotting to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the current president's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to obtain dignified treatment – but respectful treatment while incarcerated. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the tough conditions of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the far-right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights are not for offenders – chosen to visit a penitentiary to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he said.

“The former president is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, demeaning treatment”.

Possible Incarceration Environment

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 prisoners, his expected location looks to be a close penitentiary for officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while living in the impressive official residence, around 20 kilometers away.

Based on reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 sq metre restroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter balcony. “He could be authorized to have a television and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” sources indicated.

Ideological Reactions

He condemned the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his future in the {