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SAO PAULO – The attack on a major candidate for the Brazilian presidency has provoked an already extremely unpredictable campaign to lead the largest nation in Latin America. Doctors said Friday that Jair Bolsonaro would be hospitalized for at least a week.
Proponents of the far-right congressman, who want to crack down on crime, said the attack would only boost his chances in next month's elections, but it was hard to know when he could return to the countryside in person.
A man armed with a knife whose motive was unknown stabbed Bolsonaro at a rally on Thursday in Juiz de Fora, a town located about 200 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro, while there was worn on the shoulders of a supporter.
Bolsonaro, 63, suffered intestinal lesions and severe internal bleeding, said Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, one of the surgeons who operated the candidate. He was in a serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for seven to ten days, Borsato said.
The candidate was transferred Friday to a leading hospital in Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. Supporters outside the hospital wore a giant Bolsonaro inflatable doll dressed in an official suit with a belt on which was written "President."
"No matter what you think of him, he did not deserve it," said Mauro Rodrigues, owner of a construction company who went to the hospital to support Bolsonaro. "This will certainly increase his chances of winning the elections because people will be more compassionate towards him."
The attack will likely have a major impact on the remaining four weeks of the campaign, since the way the candidates interact with the fans up to their message.
For Bolsonaro, there will be questions about his physical ability to campaign – a key factor in a country slightly larger than the continental US – and whether the attack will give him a boost among the voters.
"He probably will not go out on the street during this campaign, so he can not do it, but we can," his son, Flavio, said in a video posted on Facebook. "More than ever, I count with each one of you."
Former Bolsonaro Vice President, Retired General Hamilton Mourao, told reporters that the candidate "would come out of this process stronger than he had done".
The sentiment was echoed by Flavio Bolsonaro, who tweeted: "Jair Bolsonaro is stronger than ever and ready to be elected President of Brazil in the first round!"
A dozen candidates are running on October 7th. If no one wins an absolute majority, a second round will take place on October 28th.
In a video posted on the Facebook page of a senator who visited him at the hospital, Bolsonaro thanked his doctors in a weak and irritable voice and said, "I do not want to go to school. I have never hurt anyone
He described a painful injury, saying he was worried about an attack on the country runway.
"I was getting ready for that kind of thing. You are at risk, "he said.
The polls leader is former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but he is serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption and has not been allowed to run. Bolsonaro is currently second and, although he has enthusiastic supporters, his disapproval rating is higher than that of any other major candidate.
Friday was the day of independence in Brazil and Bolsonaro had planned to attend a military parade in Rio de Janeiro.
The former army captain openly praises the 1964-1985 dictatorship in Brazil and has long argued that the country is in chaos and needs a strong hand. This message resonated with the Brazilians, but his often disparaging comments about women, blacks and gays also pushed many of them back.
The attack "will turn into a conflict between left and right," said Mauricio Santoro, professor of political science at Rio de Janeiro State University. "It is time for all presidential candidates to make a statement together to end aggression."
Videos on social networks show Bolsonaro on the shoulders of a supporter, watching the crowd and raising the thumb of his left hand. He suddenly shuts and then disappears. Other videos show supporters taking him into a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker.
The suspect, identified by the authorities as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, was arrested in a few seconds.
The Internet news portal G1 broadcast a mobile phone video, apparently obtained from the police, with Oliveira being interrogated. Sitting on the floor, hands cuffed behind him, one can hear a voice asking him who had sent him to attack Bolsonaro.
"I did not say that someone sent me," de Oliveira said. "The one who sent me was God above."
Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told The Associated Press that the agents thought "they were not dealing with a mentally stable person."
Eraldo Fabio Rodrigues de Oliveira, married to a niece of the suspect, told the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that he seemed "disturbed" and that he would often lock himself in a shed when he was in prison. he was visiting his family.
"I can not say that he was crazy, but, in the way he acted, he was not normal, no," said the relative.
Lt. Col. Marco Rodrigues of the Minas Gerais State Police told reporters that de Oliveira, who was once affiliated with a left-wing party, said he had acted because he was not in charge. he did not agree with Bolsonaro. G1 quoted de Oliveira's lawyer, Pedro Augusto Lima Possa, as saying that his client did not want to kill the politician, but only to hurt him.
Federal police said that another suspect had been arrested in connection with the attack and questioned. This suspect was released overnight but remains under investigation.
Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann said the number of federal police ensuring the safety of the candidates would be increased due to the attack, adding that Bolsonaro had been warned not to get into the crowd as he l & # 39; Thursday made it. . Currently, 80 federal police protect five presidential candidates who asked for security, and 21 were assigned to Bolsonaro, according to Jungmann.
The Brazilians rushed to social media to question whether the attack supported Bolsonaro's claims that the country was out of action or whether his stormy speech helped to incite the attack.
Flavio Bolsonaro, a state legislator who comes to the federal Senate, rejected the idea that his father had incited the attack, saying the candidate was engaged in a campaign of ideas. He said the mainstream media had some responsibility, accusing them of portraying his father as a "monster".
"They made Bolsonaro a martyr," said Jonatan Valente, a student who attended a small vigil in Sao Paulo for the injured candidate. "I think the left is shot in the foot because with this attack, they will eventually elect Bolsonaro."
After more than four years of revelations about widespread political corruption, anger is strong.
Despite being a member of Congress since 1991, Bolsonaro has exploited much of the anger and has portrayed himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system. He also promises to cope with an upsurge in crime, in part by giving the police a freer hand to shoot and kill in service. He promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.
This was not the first incident of political violence this year. In March, when Da Silva was campaigning in southern Brazil prior to his imprisonment, shots hit buses in his caravan, although no one was injured. In the same month, Marielle Franco, city councilor in Rio de Janeiro, was shot dead with her driver.
"The campaign will become a lot more emotional than it was already," said Marcos Troyjo, co-director of BRICLab at Columbia University. "Ideas will take a step back."
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Sarah DiLorenzo, Associated Press writer, reported the story in Sao Paulo and AP author Peter Prengaman reported in Rio de Janeiro. PA authors Stan Lehman and Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo and Marcelo Silva de Sousa and Yesica Fisch in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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