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He contested the law and the legal system triumphed.

Sixty days after being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems destined for incarceration.

Imminent Imprisonment

The convicted plotter – who's been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a number of court processes and challenges play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, during growing speculation that he will be sent to a infamous maximum security facility.

Historical Comments on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the conservative former soldier showed minimal compassion for the country's inmates.

“What’s the need to offer these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to wind up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Speculation

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, a group of four this week toured the complex in an obvious bid to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, claimed he expected the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the outcome of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding forty prisoners: “That is practically one square metre per prisoner.

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

Backers Speak Out

He is not the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.

Authoring in a prominent daily, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its history”.

“It is an wrong that erodes the souls of many of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided Popular Response

This could be correct due to the substantial following Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. However his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of numerous other people who believe he ought to be imprisoned for plotting to block the elected leader from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting president's Workers’ party, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to receive proper treatment – but proper treatment behind bars. He can’t continue being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the tough handling of inmates, had unexpectedly woken up to their privileges. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that human rights were not for lawbreakers – chosen to tour a jail to find out what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Potential Incarceration Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his expected location seems to be a close prison for police officers and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the spectacular leader's home, around 20 kilometers away.

According to reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – roughly the area of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “He could be allowed to have a set and even a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his relatives,” information indicated.

Political Responses

Senator Lucas criticized the speculated idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {