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He fought the legal system and the legal system won.

Two months subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” the nation's democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Imprisonment

The convicted plotter – who's been under residential detention in his residence while a series of court processes and petitions unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, during increasing talk that he will be sent to a well-known maximum security prison.

Historical Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the far-right former paratrooper displayed minimal sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“Why should we offer those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get fucked, end of story. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to wind up there, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Destination Speculation

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, several of whom this week toured the complex in an seeming bid to prevent the high court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, stated he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the next 10 days and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the consequence of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding 40 detainees: “That’s almost one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the convicts and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the awful meals,” remarked the senator.

Allies React

The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views prior to the ex-leader's expected imprisonment.

Penning in a leading publication, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the hearts of many of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided General Reaction

This could be correct given the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the spirits of millions other people who think he should be jailed for conspiring to prevent his successor from becoming president – and even conspiring to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the current leader's political party, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to receive dignified handling – but proper handling while incarcerated. He must not persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long celebrating the tough conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that human rights are not for offenders – chosen to tour a prison to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

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

Possible Incarceration Facilities

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 detainees, his more likely destination appears to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more pleasant than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro had while occupying the stunning presidential palace, about a short distance away.

As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a television and also a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” sources stated.

Political Comments

Senator Lucas denounced the speculated proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {