A Brazilian presidential candidate who has campaigned on getting tough on violent crime was stabbed in the guts while mixing with the public at a rally Thursday—and analysts say it could secure his victory. Jair Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old whose divisive, right-wing policies have earned him the nickname "Brazil's Trump," was hospitalized in serious condition after he was stabbed at the rally in Juiz de Fora, 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, the Guardian reports. Doctors say he suffered intestinal injuries after being stabbed below his bulletproof vest and will be in the hospital for at least a week. The suspected attacker, 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within moments.
"Our agents there said the attacker said he was 'on a mission from God,'" Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, tells the AP. "Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person." Bolsonaro has angered many—and faces criminal charges—for his attacks on women, black people, gays, and others, but polls suggest he could win the first round of voting on Oct. 7. Polls say former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could beat Bolsonaro, but he's in prison on corruption charges and a court rejected his candidacy last week. It's a "surreal situation," writes the BBC's Katy Watson, who notes that Bolsonaro becoming a victim of violent crime "plays into the hands of his supporters." (More Brazil stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
