Brazilian businessman Pablo Marçal, candidate for mayor of São Paulo, was discharged from hospital today after having was attacked with a chair by journalist José Luis Datena during a debate.
According to the criteria of
Marçal, who once again positioned himself as a “victim” of the system, announced that he will request the suspension of Datena’s candidacyhis opponent in the electoral contest.
The chair-throwing incident against Marçal has become the main topic in the Brazilian media, causing a stir due to the unprecedented nature of the scandal in the midst of the campaign for mayor of the capital of São Paulo.
At an improvised press conference upon leaving the Syrian-Lebanese hospital in São Paulo, Marçal, with his right arm in a sling, declared: “If I had hit him with the chair, I would be in prison. Datena got away with it. I’m going to ask for his candidacy to be annulled.”.
The medical report indicated that Marçal suffered trauma to the right side of his chest and right fist, although without major complications.
Pablo Marçal’s communications team, in a first note issued during the early hours of the morning, reported that the candidate presented ““suspected fractures in the thoracic region” and “difficulty breathing”“after the incident with journalist José Luis Datena. However, hours later it was confirmed that the injuries were not serious.
Pablo Marçal is fratured at the hospital and will be transferred to the hospital in the early hours of the morning for observation
Candidate for the Prefecture of São Paulo was medicated and passed exams at the Sirio Libanês Hospital. Marçal was attacked by Datena during a debate on TV Cultura.In a video published on social networks,… pic.twitter.com/aIgyHcxQa9
— Brazil Press (@brazilpress) September 16, 2024
São Paulo’s civil police confirmed that they will open an investigation to determine the accusations of bodily harm against Marçal, who is running for mayor with the Brazilian Renewal Labor Party (PRTB). This episode of physical violence occurred after a series of exchanges of accusations and personal insults between the two.
Before receiving the attack, Marçal had referred to an old complaint of sexual harassment against Datenawhich sparked the fury of the 67-year-old journalist. The influencer also claimed that Datena “was not a man even to hit”, a comment that provoked a violent reaction from the presenter.
José Luis Datena was expelled from the debate broadcast by TV Cultura, which took place in the final stretch leading up to the municipal elections on October 6. For his part, Pablo Marçal dropped out of school to receive medical attention after the attack.
In the hours following the incident, Marçal, known for his anti-political and aggressive speech on social media, He took advantage of the attention generated to present himself as a victim. He posted several videos showing clips of the attack and his subsequent hospitalization.
In an Instagram post, Marçal wrote: “Why all this hate?”, comparing the attack to the attacks on former presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.
He also hinted that the attack had links to the left, using an ironic tone by including the phrase “the left of love” along with a photo of the attack.
At 37, Marçal has emerged as a leading figure in the municipal elections, idolised by some and criticised by others. His provocative style has been compared to that of Javier Milei, and his rise in popularity has been dizzying, breaking into a contest that seemed polarised between Ricardo Nunes and Guilherme Boulos.
With 13 million followers on Instagram, Marçal is the third most followed politician in Brazil, behind only Lula and Bolsonaro. According to the latest survey by ‘Datafolha’, he has 19% of voting intentions, ranking third behind Boulos (25%) and Nunes (27%).
The chair-throwing incident at the debate has highlighted the growing level of violence in the discussions between the candidates for mayor of São Paulo, a phenomenon that has been constant during the campaign.
Not only Pablo Marçal and José Luis Datena have been the protagonists of controversial moments, but also other candidates. For example, in the same debate, shortly after the attack, Mayor Ricardo Nunes accused leftist Guilherme Boulos of having consumed cocaine.
Despite the scandal, the leadership of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), to which Datena belongs, ratified the journalist’s continuity as a candidate. In a public statement, Datena said: “I do not defend the use of violence to resolve a conflict, I have respected that rule in my 67 years of life, until yesterday.” [por anteayer]”.
Pablo Marçal will be the favorite, he will jump in the 1st turn. Dapena don’t have emotional control, that dinner was worse than that face breaking at the table with a machado. pic.twitter.com/ezGsNB5igU
— Libertário Jr🐦🔥 (@libertariojr) September 16, 2024
Despite acknowledging that he was wrong, He also stated that, given the same circumstances,would repeat the aggression and that “he does not regret his action.”
For his part, Marco Teixeira, a political scientist at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, commented that Marçal’s strategy has been effective so far, although it has not yet been put to the test at the ballot box.
The chair-throwing incident has become the main issue of the election campaign, according to political scientist Marco Teixeira in an interview with La Nación. “His gamble gained greater dimension than he imagined,” Teixeira explained, referring to Pablo Marçal’s strategy.
Marçal’s lawyer announced that he will try to prevent José Luis Datena from participating in the upcoming debates scheduled before the elections. Despite this, the candidates for mayor of São Paulo They will face each other again tomorrow in a new debate organized by the portal ‘UOL’ and the ‘Rede TV’ signal.
Marçal has already confirmed his attendance, and the same is expected of Datena. This meeting will be closely watched, given that it comes just 48 hours after the biggest scandal of the campaign to date, raising concerns that the debate could once again turn into a confrontational arena.
Marcelo Silva de Sousa.
The Nation of Argentina / GDA.
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*This content was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from La Nación (GDA). It was reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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