Sao Paulo mayoral candidate beaten with chair in chaotic debate

A televised debate between rival mayoral candidates in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, ended in chaos when one candidate who had beaten the opposition hit another with a chair and was thrown out of the race.

During Sunday’s debate between the six candidates, television presenter Jose Luiz Datena became enraged when his opponent Pablo Marcal, a far-right influencer, said Datena was not man enough to hit him, as he had previously threatened.

Datena had threatened to hit Marcal in an earlier debate when she filed a complaint of sexual harassment against Datena by a colleague in 2019. The colleague withdrew her complaint but later said she had been silenced through intimidation.

In his fit of rage on Sunday, Datena picked up a chair and dropped it on Marcal’s shoulder. Datena, who is fifth in the polls for the Oct. 6 election, was excluded from the debate. Marcal left the debate to seek medical treatment for a bruised rib, his spokesman said.

The remaining candidates continued the debate.

Marcal, a political newcomer whose campaign was boosted by the spread of his vitriolic debate appearances, is third in the polls behind conservative incumbent Ricardo Nunes and his left-wing rival Guilherme Boulos.

According to the polling institute Datafolha, Nunes and Boulos are close together in the polls, with both having a share of about a quarter of voting intentions.

Half a dozen pollsters released new surveys to estimate the impact of Sunday’s debate in the city of 11.5 million inhabitants.

Political consulting firm Eurasia said it did not expect the incident to affect the race. Another agency said the incident could help Datena, who is polling at around 6 percent.

“Most voters had no idea he was a candidate and now everyone is talking about him. He could gain in the polls,” said Andre Cesar of the Hold Assessoria Legislativa consulting firm. “It was good theater aimed at helping a flagging campaign,” he said. — Reuters