A Datafolha survey released on Saturday (April 11, 2026) shows that 59% of Brazilians say they believe that (PL) should serve his sentence under house arrest. According to the survey, another 37% said they think the former president should return to prison, while 5% were unable to answer.
For this latest survey, the institute interviewed 2,004 people in 137 municipalities between April 7th and 9th. The variations are within the margin of error, which is plus or minus two percentage points.
On March 27, the former president was transferred from the hospital where he was admitted to treat pneumonia, in Brasília, to his home, after Federal Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes granted him humanitarian house arrest. However, the benefit had a valid period of 90 days, subject to the severity of Bolsonaro’s health condition.
It will be up to the minister to analyze a possible extension or return of the former president to the Papudinha prison unit.
In the decision, the minister said that, according to medical literature, the total recovery time in the 2 lungs of an elderly person (the former president is 71 years old) can last from 45 to 90 days. “After this period, the presence of the necessary requirements for maintaining humanitarian house arrest will be re-analyzed, including medical expertise if necessary”said the minister. Read the (PDF – 790 kB).
Moraes also determined that:
- electronic ankle bracelet – Bolsonaro will have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet;
- residents of the house – Michelle, Laura Bolsonaro and Letícia Marianna Firmo da Silva (Bolsonaro’s stepdaughter) do not need authorization, as they live in the same house;
- children’s visits – Flávio, Carlos and Jair Renan Bolsonaro will be able to visit their father “under the same legal conditions as the prison establishment”that is, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 8 am to 11 am, from 11 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 4 pm;
- other visits – all those who are not direct family members, lawyers and doctors are suspended for 90 days;
- service – doctors will not need to ask for authorization for visits;
- Bolsonaro’s health – if necessary, the former president may be hospitalized without the need for a prior court decision, if there is medical advice;
- use of devices – Bolsonaro will not be able to use a cell phone, telephone or any other means of external communication “directly or through third parties”;
- visitors magazine – cell phones of anyone visiting the former president must be kept by police officers;
- images and social networks – Bolsonaro will not be able to use social media or have photos and videos published.
The former president’s lawyers had filed different requests requesting the replacement of custody with home custody. They claimed clinical risk and the need for continuous medical monitoring. In the requests, the defense cited recent episodes of hospitalization, worsening of the respiratory condition and a history of diseases associated with the digestive and respiratory systems.
