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SÃO PAULO – Brazil's right-wing presidential candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, vowed to continue campaigning after a near-fatal stab left the ICU leader and race ahead of the elections. October in chaos.
"Brazil comes first, and God above all … I'm with you Brazil," he said in a video recorded from his hospital bed, where he is recovering from a surgical procedure to his perforated intestines.
Political observers say the attack could increase Bolsonaro's chances of winning in October, in part because it reinforces the candidate's main campaign message, which is to be tougher on crime. .
"I have prepared for a moment like this, because you run these risks," said the former army captain in the video.
The stabbing attack at a rally in the southeastern city of Juiz de Fora has prompted rival candidates to suspend their campaign this week in solidarity with Bolsonaro. . Analysts said his rivals also needed time to reposition their campaigns and gauge public reaction to the incident, with some Bolsonaro supporters calling for protests on Friday as millions of Brazilians do not work to celebrate the protest. Independence Day.
Police arrested Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, a 40-year-old waiter, suspected of having committed the knife attack. The man, who, according to local media, had been affiliated with the PSOL left party until 2014, issued hate messages against Facebook on Bolsonaro, as well as long messages about Masonic conspiracies. He told the police that he had been "sent by God" to lead the attack, according to a copy of the police report posted on Globo's Brazilian news site. His lawyer could not be reached for comment; the PSOL party strongly condemned the attack.
A second man, suspected of inciting the attack, was also arrested, but he was later released pending a thorough investigation, police said.
Bolsonaro, 63, argues about 20 percent of what observers view as the tightest and most polarized electoral race of the last three decades. With tensions over corruption, crime and economic moribundity of the country, 13 candidates vie for the presidency in this year's elections, which will take place on 7 October, with a second vote likely on 28 October.
"I have never done anything wrong to anyone," he said in the video, where he is seen lying in intensive care with tubes coming out of his nose. He was transferred Friday to the São Paulo hospital, where he will probably stay for at least a week.
"The physical attack also means that other presidential candidates will refrain from any open political attack," at least while Mr. Bolsonaro remains hospitalized, said Jimena Blanco, Latin America's chief of staff. Verisk Maplecroft.
The attack could spark sympathy for Bolsonaro, who has one of the highest rejection rates in the presidential race, following a series of comments on homosexuals and women.
The rejection rates are high in Brazil, where voting is mandatory, which means that the vote in the second round is traditionally a battle between the least popular voters.
Write to Samantha Pearson at [email protected] and Luciana Magalhaes at [email protected]
