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He fought the legal system and the legal system prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to being handed a 27-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now looks headed to prison.

Expected Incarceration

The adjudicated coup-monger – who has been living under house arrest in his mansion while a series of court processes and petitions play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the next few days, amidst increasing speculation that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security facility.

Historical Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- military man displayed scant compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to give those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, end of story. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up there, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Location Debate

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week toured the prison in an seeming bid to discourage the high court from transferring him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the elderly leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive problems – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding 40 prisoners: “That’s practically one square metre per inmate.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, of course, of the terrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Allies React

Lucas is not the only voice expressing views before the former president’s expected incarceration.

Writing in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its past”.

“It represents an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions Brazilian citizens,” he stated.

Mixed Public Opinion

That may be accurate given the substantial backing Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted jailing has also pleased the hearts of millions individuals who believe he ought to be incarcerated for plotting to stop his successor from becoming president – and even plotting to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the current administration's political party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain proper treatment – but respectful care behind bars. He cannot carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long applauding the tough handling of inmates, had unexpectedly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights should not be for criminals – decided to visit a jail to learn what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, insulting conduct”.

Potential Prison Environment

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 prisoners, his probable destination looks to be a adjacent jail for law enforcement and other “special” detainees called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the stunning official residence, about 12 miles away.

Based on reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and contains a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a set and also a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” information indicated.

Political Responses

The lawmaker criticized the talked-about idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {