Brazil has entered a historic and deeply polarising moment after former President Jair Bolsonaro began serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to overthrow the country’s democratic system. Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday after the Supreme Court issued a pre-emptive arrest order, and on Tuesday, the court confirmed that all avenues of appeal had been exhausted and rejected his request for house arrest.
The Supreme Court ruling leaves the 70-year-old former president in a federal police detention facility in BrasÃlia, where he is isolated from other inmates. His cell is reported to be a 12-square-meter room equipped with a bed, desk, television, private bathroom, and air conditioning. Despite his lawyers citing deteriorating health and arguing he should serve his sentence under house confinement, Justice Alexandre de Moraes dismissed the request.
Bolsonaro’s conviction stems from the sweeping case against what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to cling to power after his 2022 electoral defeat. According to the court, the coup plan included plotting assassinations of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice de Moraes, as well as backing a violent insurrection in early 2023. He was also convicted of leading an armed criminal organisation and attempting to abolish democratic rule by force — charges he has consistently denied.
Several high-ranking figures in his administration have now begun serving long sentences. Army generals Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira were sent to military prisons in BrasÃlia. Former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is being held at Papuda penitentiary, while Admiral Almir Garnier began serving his term at a Navy facility. Bolsonaro’s former vice-president and defence minister, Walter Braga Netto, is in military custody in Rio de Janeiro. One close ally — former intelligence chief and current lawmaker Alexandre Ramagem — has fled abroad and is believed to be in the United States.
Bolsonaro’s imprisonment does not erase his political relevance. Polls suggest he would still be a competitive candidate if he were eligible, but a separate court ruling bars him from elected office until at least 2030. His supporters claim his trial is politically motivated, a narrative reinforced by former US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly referred to the prosecution as a “witch hunt.”
The conviction has also strained relations between BrasÃlia and Washington. The US imposed sanctions on de Moraes and other officials earlier this year in response to the proceedings. However, diplomatic tensions have cooled since Lula and Trump met at the ASEAN summit in October, and many of the tariff penalties imposed by Washington have since been withdrawn.
Even with Brazil’s history of corruption convictions against former presidents — including Michel Temer and Lula — Bolsonaro’s case stands apart. He is the first former president to be convicted specifically for attempting to topple the democratic order. His imprisonment marks a defining moment in Brazil’s political journey, one that will continue to shape the nation’s institutions, alliances, and polarised electorate long after the doors of his cell were locked.
