Sao Paulo Mayoral candidate hits rival with chair during live debate

A televised debate among election rivals for mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, descended into chaos when one candidate hit another with a chair and was expelled. During Sunday’s debate among six hopefuls, candidate Jose Luiz Datena, a TV presenter, exploded when opponent Pablo Marcal, a far-Right influencer, said Mr Datena was not man enough to hit him as he had previously threatened. Mr Datena had threatened to hit Mr Marcal in a prior debate when Mr Marcal raised a 2019 complaint of sexual harassment against Mr Datena by a coworker. The coworker withdrew her complaint, but later said she had been intimidated into silence. In his rage on Sunday, Mr Datena picked up a chair and brought it crashing down on Mr Marcal’s shoulder. Mr Datena, who is polling in fifth place for the Oct 6 election, was expelled from the debate. Mr Marcal left to get medical attention for a bruised rib, his spokesperson said. The remaining candidates continued the debate. #brazil