A televised mayoral debate in Sao Paulo, Brazil, turned heated on Sunday night when one of the six candidates attacked another with a metal chair.
The Associated Press reported that Pablo Marcal, a self-help influencer turned right-wing politician, spoke out during the debate about allegations against one of his opponents, former TV host and current candidate Jose Luis Datena.
Marcal said Datena wanted to slap him, adding that he was “not manly enough to do something like that.”
Later, live footage showed Datena walking towards Malcal's podium with a metal chair over his head, and as he raised his arm, it crashed into Malcal's side.
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A candidate for mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was attacked with a metal chair by one of his opponents during a televised debate over the weekend. (SITE TV POP via Reuters)
Shortly after the attack, the debate moderator on TV Cultura interrupted the event to cut to commercial breaks, and the debate later resumed on Sunday night without Marcal.
Instead of continuing the argument, Marcal was reportedly taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was given breathing assistance.
On Monday, he explained to his followers that he was experiencing pain when breathing and had a fractured lower rib cage.
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A candidate for mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was attacked with a metal chair by one of his opponents during a televised debate over the weekend. (SITE TV POP via Reuters)
Malcal “suffered trauma to the right side of his chest and right wrist but suffered no major complications,” hospital officials said in a statement, adding that he had been released from the hospital.
On social media, Marcal called the incident an “attempted murder” and compared it to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July and the stabbing of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in 2018.
According to the Associated Press, an investigation into Datena's alleged misconduct did not result in charges and the matter was shelved after his accuser recanted.
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A candidate for mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was attacked with a metal chair by one of his opponents during a televised debate over the weekend. (SITE TV POP via Reuters)
Datena also denies the allegations.
After the debate, Datena told reporters that the incident was painful for him because he believes it contributed to his mother-in-law's stroke and subsequent death.
On Monday, Datena acknowledged he made mistakes during the debate but said he had no regrets.
“If the circumstances were the same, I would not hesitate to repeat this act as an extreme response to the history of attacks my opponents have carried out against me and many others,” he said.
Mr Marcal's campaign said the debate should not have gone ahead without him, adding that it wanted legal action taken against Mr Datena.
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On Sunday night, the incident was registered with the Sao Paulo public security authorities as an “injury and insult”. An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
