Stabbing of Brazilian presidential candidate could reshape race
RIO DE JANEIRO — The wounding of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate has the potential to reshape the election contest after dramatically exposing the deep polarization in Latin America's largest nation.
Far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has promised to crack down on crime, has long argued that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to be steadied.
After a knife-wielding man stabbed the candidate in the abdomen during a campaign event Thursday, Brazilians surged on to social media to argue over whether the attack supports Bolsonaro's assertions that the country is off the rails or whether his heated rhetoric contributed to inciting the attack.
Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery on the candidate, said Bolsonaro's recovery so far was "satisfactory." He said the candidate would remain hospitalized for at least a week after a two-hour operation to stop serious internal bleeding.
In numerous videos posted on social media of the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro could be seen on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand. He is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker.
A suspect, identified by authorities as 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within seconds.
Police did not give a motive, but one official said the man appeared to be mentally unstable.
"Our agents there said the attacker said he was 'on a mission from God,'" Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told The Associated Press. "Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person."