Sao Paulo mayoral candidate, Brazilian journalist and TV host Jose Luis Datena, attacked his opponent with an iron chair during a live debate on Sunday night.
Opponent Pablo Marcal said in a statement to local media that he suffered broken ribs in the assault. Marcal's team filed a complaint against Datena with local police on Monday morning about the incident.
Datena, who represents the centre-left Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), and Marçal, who represents the conservative Brazilian Labor Renewal Party (PRTB), are two of the 10 deputies. Candidates Six candidates are running in the São Paulo city council elections on October 6. On Sunday, the six candidates held a debate that was broadcast live on Brazil's public television station TV Cultura.
Brazilian news network Jovem Pan Reported Tensions between the two candidates began when Marçal questioned Datena's candidacy, accusing him of “playing around” and hinting that he was withdrawing from the election. 4 Various election campaigns from 2016 to 2022. CNN Brazil Reported In July, Datena “compared” himself to US President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the 2024 US presidential election that same month, asking: “If Biden can withdraw, why can't I?”
Datena is against Marsal. belief Marsal was convicted of grand larceny in 2010. Marsal was convicted in 2005 for his role in a criminal ring that used fraudulent banking websites and computer malware to steal money from victims. Marsal was 18 years old at the time. The conviction was overturned in 2018 because the statute of limitations had expired.
In an earlier segment of the debate, Marsal also addressed sexual harassment allegations against Datena that surfaced in 2019. At the time, local news reporter Bruna Drews formally Accused Datena accused Drews of sexual harassment, then sued him for defamation, but dropped the lawsuit a few months later.
During the debate, Datena reportedly said he would “not forgive” Marsal for accusing him of sexual harassment.
Jovem Pan said the conflict escalated after Marçal called Datena a “tough guy” and referred to an incident during a previous debate in which Datena allegedly tried to attack Marçal.
“Brazil wants to know, Sao Paulo wants to know [when Datena would drop out]” Marsal reported. said “You're a 'bastard'. You came to the recent debate to punch me, which is what you wanted to do. You're not manly enough to do that.”
In response, Datena picked up a chair and hit Marsal over the head with it.
The debate's moderator, journalist Leo Selva, called for a commercial break during the attack. When the debate resumed, Selva announced that Datena had been expelled from the debate, but organizers accused Marçal of using insulting language. Marçal was taken to the Sirio Libanes Hospital for treatment.
Selva Apologized Shortly after the incident, a spokesman for TV Cultura described the incident as “one of the most disgusting scenes in the history of Brazilian television.”
“With all the rules in place, I never imagined that such aggressive behaviour would occur. It's very disappointing,” Selva said.
Marsal's team said According to local media, the candidate currently suffers from fractured ribs and a dislocated finger. At the time of writing, the Sirio Libanes Hospital had not released information about the candidate's condition. Marçal's lawyer, Tasio Lenam, filed a lawsuit on his behalf against Datena on Monday morning for bodily harm and defamation.
“We have taken the necessary steps to hold Candidate Datena accountable. We have charged him with assault and defamation for the unnecessary words he uttered following the attack,” Lenham said. said “We are not aware of any charges being filed against us,” the reporters said after filing a complaint at a local police station in Sao Paulo.
“The incident was recorded and I showed the video taken from a different angle. Datena hits Pablo twice, then picks up another chair and hits him again,” he continued. “The first blow hits him in the arm, he is struggling to move his thumb, and he is hit in the ribs, where he has significant bruising. I have requested a forensic examination, the images of which will be made public tomorrow.”
Datena said In an interview shortly after his expulsion from the debate, Datena said he “didn't regret” assaulting Marsal and claimed he “lost control” after Marsal mentioned the sexual harassment accusation made against him in 2019. Datena said fatigue from the accusations led to the death of his mother-in-law.
“It felt like all of this was coming back to me and I couldn't control myself. Am I wrong? Yes, but what can I do? It's over,” Datena said.
The candidate said he would continue to run “to the end,” but noted that his future lay with Brazil's Social Democratic Party.
Marsal Published On Sunday evening, he posted a photo to his Instagram account comparing his attack to the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump in July and the 2018 assassination attempt on former Brazilian conservative President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan author documenting life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter. here.
