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RIO DE JANEIRO – Representative Jair Bolsonaro, the presidential leader in Brazil, was stabbed Thursday afternoon during a campaign, according to campaigners and law enforcement officials.
Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, has been a divisive figure in Brazil, where he is adored by some for his harsh and insulted remarks by others for his rants against women, gays and lesbians. black people.
Bolsonaro was transported by a crowd of people to Juiz de Fora, a city in the state of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil, according to a video of the attack. shared on social networks.
One of the candidate's sons, Flavio Bolsonaro, said the knife pierced Mr. Bolsonaro's liver, lung and intestinal tract. "He lost a lot of blood" he said on Twitter.
"His condition now seems to be stable," writes the son. "Please, pray!"
Mr. Bolsonaro's campaign and the police in Minas Gerais identified the attacker as Adélio Bispo de Oliveira. He was arrested by supporters of the candidate. They then handed it over to the federal police who are keeping Mr. Bolsonaro safe.
Police officers present at the scene said that the attacker had declared "execute an order of God," Luis Boundens, president of the federation of federal police officers, on the site of Piauí Magazine. This, he added, led the investigators to question the mental state of the attacker.
Politicians across the ideological spectrum were unanimous in condemning the attack, the latest twist of a presidential contest polarizing.
"It is intolerable that, living in a democratic state of law, it is not possible to carry out an orderly campaign," said President Michel Temer in a televised speech.
The stabbing was the last act of political violence in Brazil this year. Rio de Janeiro city councilor Marielle Franco was executed on 14 March after attackers opened fire on her car. A few days later, field buses recruited by former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, formerly leader of the race, whose conviction for corruption prevented him from running, were shot in the south from Brazil.
"The act of violence against the candidate Jair Bolsonaro is inadmissible and represents a double aggression: against his physical integrity and against democracy", the former senator Marina Silva, one of the main rivals of Mr. Bolsonaro, wrote on Twitter.
Another presidential candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, a former governor of São Paulo, said he hoped that Mr. Bolsonaro's attacker would be duly punished.
"Politics is through dialogue and persuasion, never by hate" he wrote on Twitter. "Every act of violence is deplorable."
Bolsonaro, 63, has largely dominated the runaway presidential race for generations. A new poll released by Ibope this week places it at the top of the pack with 22% of voter support. His closest rivals are tied at 12%. The vote will take place next month.
Mr. Bolsonaro has gained an extremely loyal audience among a segment of Brazilians who find his unfiltered style refreshing. He promised to restore order in a country suffering from an upsurge in violence by facilitating the access of civilians to arms and the killing of criminals by the police.
But his discriminatory verbal attacks have led to this year being accused by the Attorney General of inciting hatred against blacks, women, gays and indigenous people.
Mauricio Araujo, a security guard at a daycare center in São Paulo, said he suspected the attack was aimed at knocking Mr. Bolsonaro off the race.
"Everyone in this election is corrupt except for Bolsonaro," he said. "The old festive machine will try to get it out of the way."
Mauricio Santoro, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said he was encouraged by the unanimous condemnation of the attack, calling it "a rare moment of civility in this campaign". and stimulate Mr Bolsonaro's call among his supporters.
"The impact for his supporters will be immense," Santoro said. "This will reinforce the feeling that he is a special leader, that he can change the country, that he is fighting against an authoritarian left."
Eduardo Bolsonaro, another son of Mr. Bolsonaro, and a congressman, asked for prayers, citing his father's military history.
"A soldier who goes to war fearing to die is a coward," said Eduardo Bolsonaro in a message on Twitter.
Ernesto Londoño reported from Rio de Janeiro and Shasta Darlington from São Paulo.
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