He battled justice and the legal system triumphed.
A couple of months following getting a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now looks headed to prison.
Anticipated Imprisonment
The adjudicated instigator – who has been subject to home confinement in his estate while a set of court processes and petitions unfold – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, amidst growing rumors that he will be sent to a well-known top-security penitentiary.
Past Comments on Prisoners
During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing former soldier displayed little mercy for the country's inmates.
“For what reason must we give these lowlifes a good life?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”
Jail Location Speculation
However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week toured the facility in an obvious attempt to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, stated he expected the 70-year-old figure to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut problems – the outcome of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He won’t be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he added, who also worried about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating four dozen prisoners: “That is virtually one meter squared per prisoner.
“We talked to the inmates and they complain, naturally, of the horrible cuisine,” added the senator.
Backers Voice Concerns
The senator isn't the sole person expressing views ahead of the former president’s anticipated incarceration.
Writing in a leading publication, a different supporter, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its past”.
“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the souls of many people in Brazil,” the former minister said.
Divided General Reaction
This could be true due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his expected incarceration has also gladdened the feelings of many other people who feel he should be imprisoned for plotting to block his successor from becoming president – and even scheming to have him killed.
The lawmaker, a congressman for the current president's political party, commented: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to receive respectful treatment – but dignified handling while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years celebrating the tough treatment of inmates, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Only now has the far-right – which has consistently asserted that civil liberties are not for lawbreakers – decided to visit a penitentiary to find out what situations are actually like,” he said.
“The former president is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, demeaning conduct”.
Likely Jail Conditions
Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 detainees, his expected destination appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).
His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular leader's home, about 20 kilometers away.
As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter balcony. “He could be authorized to have a television and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” sources stated.
Ideological Comments
Senator Lucas condemned the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {
