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Two cases of political violence in Brazil stress the electoral climate

First modification:

A fan of Jair Bolsonaro killed a co-worker who supported Lula da Silva after a heated argument. The incident occurred in the rural area of ​​Confresa, the man perpetrated the act by stabbing and even tried to decapitate the victim with an axe. In another incident, a former Bolsonarista councilor candidate for the town of São Gonçalo got tangled up with a Lulista supporter in the prelude to an evangelical meeting of the opposition leader.

Over the course of this week, political violence in Brazil has escalated rapidly with two alarming clashes involving fans of Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, events that put pressure on an already thick electoral climate.

The most serious of them occurred on Wednesday, September 7, on a farm in Agrovila, in the rural area of ​​Confresa, near the capital of Cuiabá. There, Benedito Cardoso dos Santos -42 years old- was assassinated at the hands of Rafael Silva de Oliveira -22 years old-, his co-worker, after an intense discussion about politics.

According to information collected by the Civil Police, Silva de Oliveira – a supporter of the current president Bolsonaro – stabbed Cardoso dos Santos, a Lula fan, to death after two “differing political opinions” crossed paths.

Víctor Oliveira, delegate of the case, added that both worked together cutting firewood on a property. The agent described that Benedito struck first and grabbed the knife, but then Rafael recovered, grabbed the gun, chased the victim and hit him from behind. Later, he hit him in the eye, neck and forehead, a total of 15 times. Minutes later he tried to decapitate him with an axe.

A supporter of President Bolsonaro causes a riot and is attacked before an act by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who are attending a meeting with evangelicals today in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro.
A supporter of President Bolsonaro causes a riot and is attacked before an act by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who are attending a meeting with evangelicals today in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro. © Andre Coelho / EFE

Rafael went to the hospital seeking help for having a cut on his hand and forehead, but was later discovered and taken to the police station, where he confessed to the crime. He is being held on charges of qualified homicide, for futile and cruel reasons, and was remanded in custody.

“Intolerance should not and will not be admitted. It is a shame to go back to times of barbarism”, exclaimed Judge Carlos Eduardo Pinho Bezerra Mendes, of the Court No. 3 of North Porto Alegre.

Violence against a former Bolsonarista candidate

Rodrigo Duarte, a candidate for São Gonçalo councilor in 2020, received a fist bump from a Lula supporter after an altercation at the door of the former president’s act this Friday.

The Bolsonarista was hanging around the area with stickers of Lula in prison stuck to his car, something that caused the anger of those present, who began to boo him and one of them hit the vehicle.

Upon getting off, Duarte’s mobile phone was stolen, the stickers on his car were broken and he exchanged blows until security forces rescued him and took him away from the scene.

Political violence in Brazil has grown by 335% since January 2019, according to a study by the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). This figure represents 1,209 attacks on members of the political world, including 45 murders of leaders, in 2022 alone.

The work of the federal entity detailed that only in the first quarter of 2019, 47 cases were generated, while in 2022 there were 214 in the same period.

with local media

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