A Brazilian mayor head-butted one of his rivals during a heated televised debate on Thursday.
The mayor of Teresina, José Pessoa Leal, surprised candidate Francinaldo Leão when he approached him, lunged and punched him in the face in front of the other stunned candidates in the TV Band studios.
Leão, 49, who is running for the Socialist and Liberty Party (PSOL), had questioned the 77-year-old Democratic mayor about problems within the city’s health department.
He was given one minute to respond to Leão’s accusations and then headbutted him before the moderator stepped between them.
The mayor of the northeastern Brazilian city of Teresina, José Pessoa Leal (right), head-butted candidate Francinaldo Leão during a heated live debate on TV Band on Thursday
Francinaldo Leão, candidate for mayor of the Brazilian municipality of Teresina, reacts after receiving a headbutt from Mayor José Pessoa Leal
Pessôa, who is seeking a second consecutive term, said Leão had spat on him.
The speech – the first debate of the campaign season – went off without a hitch as Pessôa apologized.
“I want to apologize to him, because he attacked me a lot, spitting on me, but I already apologized to him,” she said.
However, the images reviewed by DailyMail.com do not show Leão spitting at the mayor.
Despite the apologies, Leão went to a local police station and filed a complaint.
“I was attacked by the current mayor of Teresina with a headbutt, for asking the question that every citizen of Teresina would like to have asked: about the abandonment of the Public Health system of Teresina,” Leão said in a statement.
‘I was attacked for defending the rights of our peripheries, for giving voice to those who are often silenced.
‘But know one thing: I will NOT be silenced! Despite the mayor’s lack of control, my fight will continue so that every citizen is heard and their social rights are respected.’
Mayor José Pessôa Leal headbutted candidate Francinaldo Leão after being questioned about problems with the city’s health department
Teresina, Brazil mayoral candidate Francinaldo Leão has filed a police complaint after Mayor José Pessôa Leal headbutted him.
Mayor José Pessôa Leal claimed that he had been spat on during the debate, but the images seem to indicate that this did not happen.
Pessôa’s campaign accused mayoral candidates of constantly attacking him with accusations that are not true.
‘On July 23, the mayor released an open letter to the civil and federal police authorities in which he denounced the falsehoods against his administration and his personal life, which have been taking place since the beginning of his mandate and which have intensified even more with the arrival of the electoral period,’ the mayor’s campaign said in a statement.
‘Regarding the debate between candidates that took place yesterday on TV Band, the mayor was once again attacked by candidates who are making an excessive and unethical opposition, who are trying, at any price, to destabilise him, with all kinds of provocations,’ the campaign added.
‘The mayor remained calm and collected until, faced with a new provocation, he reacted to the verbal violence of his opponent. The mayor is against violence, but he is humane and faithful to his feelings.’
DailyMail.com contacted the campaigns of Mayor Pessôa and Leão.
(tags to translate)dailymail