Jair Bolsonaro, conservative candidate for president and frontrunner in Brazil’s rapidly approaching elections, has survived an assassination attempt. (Breitbart)
Bolsonaro, a senator known for his anti-corruption, pro-family values campaign platform, was attending a campaign rally in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, carried by a crowd of supporters when he suffered the assassination attempt, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo. The newspaper notes that security guards escorted him out of the crowd to receive medical attention and that Bolsonaro was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time.
O Globo cites a source in the campaign who described the stab wound as “superficial” and expressed optimism about Bolsonaro’s ability to recover and continue campaigning. His son Flavio Bolsonaro, currently running for asenate seat, posted on Twitter that his father, also confirmed that the attacker failed to significantly hurt his father. “Thank God, it was merely superficial and he is doing well. I hope prayers for us will intensify!”
A suspect identified as 40-year-old Adélio Bispo de Oliveira was arrested on the scene, police confirmed. Bolsonaro is expected to leave the hospital on Friday.
Leftist candidates running against Bolsonaro have come out against the violent attack. “I repudiate violence as a political language, express solidarity with my opponent, and demand that authorities identify and punish those responsible for this barbarism,” Democratic Labor Party (PDT) candidate Ciro Gomes wrote on Twitter.
Bolsonaro has remained ahead in the polls consistently, ever since leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received a 12-year prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption.
AAN Staff
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