Stabbing shakes Brazil’s presidential race
SAO PAULO – The stabbing of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate jolted an already wildly unpredictable campaign to lead Latin America’s largest nation, with doctors saying Friday that Jair Bolsonaro will be hospitalized for at least a week.
Supporters of the far-right congressman who wants to crack down on crime said the attack would only boost his chances in next month’s election, but it was unclear when he would be able to return to campaigning in person.
A knife-wielding man whose motive was unknown stabbed Bolsonaro during a rally Thursday in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, as he was being carried on the shoulders of a supporter.
Bolsonaro, 63, suffered intestinal damage and serious internal bleeding, according to Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, one of the surgeons who operated on him. He was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for seven to 10 days, Borsato said.
“No matter what you think about him, he did not deserve this,” said Mauro Rodrigues, a 33-year-old owner of a construction business who went to the hospital to support Bolsonaro. “It will definitely increase his chances of winning the election because people will be more sympathetic toward him.”
The attack is likely to have a major impact on the remaining four weeks of the campaign, from how candidates interact with supporters to their messages.
The leader in the polls is former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but he is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and has been barred from running. Bolsonaro is currently second, and while he has enthusiastic followers, his disapproval rating is higher than any other major candidate.
The former army captain openly praises Brazil’s 1964-85 dictatorship and has long argued the country is in chaos and needs a strong hand. That message has resonated with Brazilians, but his often derogatory comments about women, blacks and gays have also repulsed many.
The attack “will turn into a dispute between the left and right,” said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro’s state university. “It’s time that all presidential candidates make a declaration together to stop the aggressiveness.”
Videos on social media show Bolsonaro on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs-up with his left hand. He suddenly flinches and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker.
The suspect, identified by authorities as 40-yearold Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within seconds.
News portal G1 posted cellphone video, apparently obtained from police, of de Oliveira being questioned. Sitting on the floor with his hands cuffed behind him, a voice can be heard asking him who had sent him to attack Bolsonaro.
“I didn’t say anybody sent me,” said de Oliveira, who was once affiliated with a leftist party. “He who sent me was God on high.”
Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told The Associated Press that agents believed “they were not dealing with a mentally stable person.”
Brazilians surged onto social media to argue over whether the attack supports Bolsonaro’s assertions that the country is off the rails or if his heated rhetoric contributed to inciting the attack.
“They made Bolsonaro a martyr,” said Jonatan Valente, a student who joined a small vigil in Sao Paulo for the wounded candidate. “I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro.”
After more than four years of revelations of widespread political corruption, anger is running high.
Bolsonaro has harnessed much of the anger and presented himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system. He also promises to confront a surge in crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.
Sarah Dilorenzo and Peter Prengaman