Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has been granted permission to reduce his 27-year prison sentence by reading books, a novel approach to reducing his time behind bars. However, it appears his lawyers have only recently discovered this quirk in the Brazilian penal code, which allows inmates to cut their sentences by four days for each title read.
Bolsonaro, a self-proclaimed busy individual who once declared he "doesn't have time to read", has been tasked with devouring books on various topics, including Indigenous rights, racism, and the environment. The reading list is likely to be anathema to the far-right politician, given his previous support for a 1964-85 dictatorship that was marked by violence against minorities.
Among the books assigned to Bolsonaro are titles such as Ana Maria Gonçalves' "Um Defeito de Cor" (A Colour Defect), which explores Brazil's history from the perspective of a Black woman. The list also features children's non-fiction picture book "Democracy!" by Philip Bunting, and classic novels like Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace".
To qualify for sentence reduction, prisoners must submit written reports to prison authorities, detailing what they have read. Bolsonaro is required to document his progress, but it remains to be seen whether he will stick to the assigned reading list.
Interestingly, Bolsonaro once appeared in public with a large book, Winston Churchill's "Memoirs of the Second World War", but its contents and his actual level of engagement with the material are unclear. In contrast, his preferred read during the 2018 presidential election was Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra's memoir, which chronicled his time as an army colonel accused of torture.
Bolsonaro is currently serving a maximum security sentence in Brasília after being transferred from a federal police base where he spent Christmas. His lawyers' decision to explore this unusual sentence reduction scheme has sparked debate about the former president's commitment to reform and rehabilitation.
Bolsonaro, a self-proclaimed busy individual who once declared he "doesn't have time to read", has been tasked with devouring books on various topics, including Indigenous rights, racism, and the environment. The reading list is likely to be anathema to the far-right politician, given his previous support for a 1964-85 dictatorship that was marked by violence against minorities.
Among the books assigned to Bolsonaro are titles such as Ana Maria Gonçalves' "Um Defeito de Cor" (A Colour Defect), which explores Brazil's history from the perspective of a Black woman. The list also features children's non-fiction picture book "Democracy!" by Philip Bunting, and classic novels like Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace".
To qualify for sentence reduction, prisoners must submit written reports to prison authorities, detailing what they have read. Bolsonaro is required to document his progress, but it remains to be seen whether he will stick to the assigned reading list.
Interestingly, Bolsonaro once appeared in public with a large book, Winston Churchill's "Memoirs of the Second World War", but its contents and his actual level of engagement with the material are unclear. In contrast, his preferred read during the 2018 presidential election was Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra's memoir, which chronicled his time as an army colonel accused of torture.
Bolsonaro is currently serving a maximum security sentence in Brasília after being transferred from a federal police base where he spent Christmas. His lawyers' decision to explore this unusual sentence reduction scheme has sparked debate about the former president's commitment to reform and rehabilitation.
I'm not sure if reducing Bolsonaro's sentence just by reading books is such a great idea, but hey, it's a start 
. Four days for each book read? That's like, super lenient 
. And what's with the selection of books? Indigenous rights and racism? That's definitely not going to make him see things from another perspective 
. I mean, the guy has a history of being pretty extreme in his views. But hey, at least he'll have something to do while he's behind bars... maybe read up on some tolerance 
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. Like, who would've thought a guy with his history of supporting dictators would be doing book club? It's like the universe is giving him a reality check. I'm curious to see how he'll do with this reading list - will he stick to it or try to find ways to cheat the system? 
His lawyers' decision to use this quirk in the penal code is definitely an interesting move, but only time will tell if it's just a clever ploy to reduce his sentence or if Bolsonaro is actually learning something new 
. Plus, it's about time someone held him accountable for his past actions - all those books on Indigenous rights and racism are gonna be a real eye-opener 
. Who knows if he'll actually finish the list or just use it as an excuse to avoid doing any actual work 
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. The books they've assigned him to read are definitely thought-provoking - I hope he takes them seriously 
#JusticeReform #ReadingIsKey #BolsonaroBookClub
! his lawyers are all up in arms but idk what's more cringeworthy, him having to read books on racism and indigenous rights or him pretending to be interested in war and peace 
. But hey, at least the prison authorities are trying to give him a chance to learn something new. I wonder what Tolstoy's "War and Peace" will be like for someone who thinks democracy is just about personal freedom 
He's had so much time to reflect on his past actions and it's surprising he didn't read anything before now. I'm hoping he'll actually finish all the books on his list, but I wouldn't count on it 
. Still, I suppose it's better than nothing, and who knows, maybe this will be a wake-up call for the guy 
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. But at the same time, it's hard not to think that he's just gonna phony-read some books and pretend like he actually cares 
I don't think it's cool that Bolsonaro is only reading books now because his lawyers found out he can, not because he actually wants to learn or reflect on his past actions 
I mean, who wouldn't want to learn more about Indigenous rights and racism, right? It's like he's getting a second chance to learn from his past mistakes. And hey, at least he's not just gonna ignore the reading list, he has to write reports too, that's pretty transparent. His lawyers did seem a bit late to the party with this whole quirk in the penal code thing tho 
Anyway, this is actually kinda cool - I mean, who needs prison reform when you can give inmates a free library card, right?