Brazilian presidential candidate stabbed at rally
JUIZ DE FORA (Reuters) — The leading candidate in Brazil’s presidential election is in serious but stable condition after getting stabbed by an assailant at a campaign rally on Thursday, doctors said, pushing an already chaotic campaign into further disarray.
Far-right firebrand Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a controversial figure who has enraged many Brazilians for years with divisive comments, but has a devout following among conservative voters, could take two months to fully recover and will spend at least a week in the hospital, said Luiz Henrique Borsato, the doctor who operated on the candidate.
“His internal wounds were grave and put the patient’s life at risk,” Borsato said, adding that a serious challenge now would be preventing an infection that could be caused by the perforation of Bolsonaro’s intestines.
The attack on Bolsonaro, 63, is a dramatic twist in what was already Brazil’s most unpredictable election since the country’s return to democracy three decades ago.
Corruption investigations have jailed scores of powerful businessmen and politicians in recent years, and alienated infuriated voters.
There were fears that violence could flare across Brazil yesterday, as the nation celebrates its Independence Day and political groups are expected to march in hundreds of cities. Bolsonaro’s rival candidates called off their campaign activities scheduled for yesterday.