Imprisoned since January in the 19th Military Police Battalion of the DF, Papudinha, () divides his visits between political and personal meetings, when he takes the opportunity to vent and tries to organize this year’s electoral strategy.
Detained in a closed regime since November, the former president tells allies that he has constant nightmares and that he eats little to avoid hiccups. He also reports fear that his son (PL-RJ) will be, as happened to him in the 2018 elections.
During visits, he also complains about not having full access to political movements taking place outside the prison. The former president can watch open TV, but only for a few hours a day.
The reports were collected by Sheet with at least six people who visited him in Papudinha in recent weeks.
Former Secretary of Land Affairs Nabhan Garcia met Bolsonaro on Carnival Saturday. Nabhan says that the former president asked him to give Flávio a message: that his son be careful. The ally claims that Bolsonaro became emotional when talking about the subject.
At the Bolsonarist demonstration on Sunday (1st), in São Paulo, Flávio wore a bulletproof vest underneath his green and yellow shirt.
The same fear was the subject of a conversation with Bishop Robson Rodovalho, leader of the Sara Nossa Terra church, which with authorization from the (Supreme Federal Court). “I think Bolsonaro is a traumatized man. He fears many things and feels wronged, powerless to defend himself and his loved ones,” the bishop said to Sheet.
Flávio to run for Planalto. Bolsonaro has said he is hopeful about his son’s election, but asks his allies to tell his eldest son that it is time for him to travel across Brazil.
In conversations with people close to him, the former president states that he is still afraid of his own death. He stated that he thought that, made in December. “I worked with him on hope, faith in the future. His body could be there [na Papudinha]but the mind has to leave”, says Rodovalho, who claims to have led prayers and sung to try to reassure the former president.
After the December surgery, Bolsonaro intensified religious counseling. He also receives constant visits from Bishop Thiago Manzoni, district deputy for PL. The authorization given by the STF provides for a weekly visit by religious people, individually, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Even with sleeping pills, Bolsonaro reports that he sleeps poorly and has nightmares, say allies who have visited him in recent weeks, such as Nabhan Garcia.
Despite the former first lady (PL) sending lunch and dinner boxes to her husband, the meals became Bolsonaro’s fear, says Rodovalho. “He doesn’t eat much. He gets scared, afraid of feeding and triggering the hiccups.”
Allies who were with Bolsonaro say that constant hiccups hinder longer conversations. Furthermore, they say that the medications leave the former president physically unbalanced, with nausea.
“Bolsonaro is foolhardy to stay there. He should be at home because of his age and comorbidities. There is no justification for being in Papudinha, which is a far away place, difficult to get to a hospital”, argues Rodovalho.
Convicted of an attempted coup d’état, Bolsonaro has complained during visits to allies that he does not know everything that is happening outside Papudinha. A constant request is to be better informed about political movements.
He told Nabhan Garcia that he did not know details, e.g.
According to , Bolsonaro usually watches sports programs on TV. In the morning, he showers, shaves and reads books. In the afternoon, he rests for 20 minutes after lunch and goes for walks.
According to Nabhan, the former president feels that there are people who will show solidarity and check on him, while others will visit him for his electoral role.
As shown by Sheetwho seek his blessing to launch themselves into his electoral strongholds, unlocking regional agreements.
Even in prison, the former president has been involved in Flávio’s pre-campaign and in setting up platforms in the states. He played an active role in consolidating his son’s candidacy, the target of initial disbelief from the center and the market, who preferred the governor of São Paulo, (Republicans).
During his visits, the former president convinced allies that his son’s presence in the national election was inevitable. The troubled process that led Tarcísio to decide to run for re-election in January.
Bolsonaro is described by those who lived with him as a person subject to paranoia, especially after the 2018 crisis.
Last November, when he was under house arrest, he was arrested, which led the STF minister to order his transfer to the prison system.
Allies say it was with the idea that a clip had been installed on the ankle bracelet. For him, third parties could hear his conversations. The report also found that, while he was still stuck at home, Bolsonaro told visitors that he was being observed by a drone in his own backyard.
