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He fought the legal system and justice won.

Sixty days subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.

Expected Incarceration

The convicted coup-monger – who has been living under home confinement in his mansion while a number of court processes and challenges play out – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, during increasing talk that he will be sent to a infamous high-security prison.

Historical Comments on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the far-right ex- military man exhibited minimal sympathy for the country's jailed individuals.

“What’s the need to give those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Facility Debate

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, a group of four this week toured the facility in an obvious effort to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he expected the 70-year-old figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious gut problems – the outcome of a life-threatening stabbing during the last political campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His health is extremely serious. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “That’s practically one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the inmates and they grumble, naturally, of the horrible food,” remarked the senator.

Allies React

The senator isn't the sole person speaking out ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Authoring in a major publication, a different supporter, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“It represents an wrong that gnaws the hearts of many of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Divided Popular Opinion

It is possibly correct given the considerable support Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. Yet his predicted incarceration has also warmed the hearts of many others who feel he should be incarcerated for planning to prevent the elected leader from becoming president – and also plotting to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the current leader's Workers’ party, said: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to receive respectful handling – but dignified handling in prison. He must not continue being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time celebrating the tough conditions of inmates, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Only now has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that civil liberties should not be for offenders – chosen to visit a prison to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, insulting handling”.

Potential Jail Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently holds about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a close jail for police officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

Its cells are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the stunning leader's home, around 20 kilometers away.

According to reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – roughly the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a shower and a 12 square meter terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and even a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” information stated.

Ideological Reactions

Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his future in the {