At Brazil’s São Paulo, a mayoral debate descended into chaos when one candidate assaulted a rival with a chair.
As per footage from live broadcast on TV Cultura, a heating exchange was witnessed between José Luiz Datena and Pablo Marçal, which escalated into Datena swinging a chair at Marçal.
Later, Marçal was treated at Sírio Libanês Hospital and later discharged. His team reported that he may have suffered a rib fracture and experienced breathing difficulties. Further, the hospital confirmed, that he sustained trauma to his chest and wrist, though there were no major complications.
Subsequently, in a provocative comparison, Marçal likened the chair attack to the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump in July and the stabbing of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during the 2018 election. He shared an image of all three events on Instagram, captioning it: “Why all this hate?”
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Why Datena Lost His Cool?
Meanwhile, in a another interview with TV Cultura, Datena explained that Marçal referenced his past sexual harassment allegations, which was dismissed years ago. Thus, triggering his violent reaction.
Talking about his reaction, he said “He brought up a case that was archived, which the police never investigated due to lack of evidence. This incident from 11 years ago caused significant distress within my family.”
Following the incident, Datena was removed from the debate but asserted on Monday that, while he regretted his actions, he did not apologize for them.
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Meanwhile, Marçal’s team has announced their intention to pursue legal action, stating, “Pablo Marçal was cowardly attacked by José Luiz Datena, who struck him in the ribs with an iron chair,” and regretting that the debate went on without him.
