Brazilian far-right candidate Pablo Marçal ended up with a broken rib after his opponent, news anchor José Luiz Datena, attacked him with a chair during a live televised debate. The two candidates are competing for the São Paulo mayorship, one of the most hotly contested seats in Brazil.
Marçal, a popular Instagram influencer with more than 13 million followers, is one of the strongest candidates, along with the city’s current mayor, Ricardo Nunes, who has been endorsed by former president and general, Jair Bolsonaro. Guilherme Boulos, a leftist allied with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is competing for the same political seat.
The incident occurred Sunday night during a debate organized by the TV Cultura channel, which included all the major candidates. Videos reveal that Datena’s hostile reaction came after Marçal made several accusations against him, including some related to sexual harassment.
The debate momentarily went off air after the attack, but resumed without Datena, who was expelled and without Marçal, who was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
