Rio de Janeiro mayoral candidate shot and forced to stop campaign

In the latest episode of violence to engulf Brazilian politics, gunmen forced the closure of a campaign event for a mayoral candidate in the city of Araruama, in the tourist region of Lagos, in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. Janeiro. To show they meant business, the gunmen fired several shots into the walls of the venue, leaving those who had come to hear the candidate’s proposals in a panic.

The meeting was a campaign event for the current councilor of Araruama, Peña Bernardes, candidate for mayor of the city in the elections of October next year for the Liberal Party PL. She was accompanied by another candidate, Manuela Pérez, the current mayor of the neighboring city of Saquarema and a candidate for re-election also for the PL, and many residents of Araruama, including the elderly, women and children, came to the event.

Shortly after the debate between Peña and residents about the proposals for the city began, four armed men arrived on motorcycles, fired several shots at the walls of the building and at cars parked outside, and shouted for the event to be stopped. People who had come to watch the campaign event ran frantically wherever they could to protect themselves from the gunfire, especially since no one initially knew exactly what the intent or purpose of the gunmen was, and the two candidates took refuge in rooms inside the facility.

This time, no one was hurt or killed, especially since the councilwoman holding the political rally complied with the gunmen’s orders and immediately shut down the event, largely to avoid putting voters at risk in case she disobeyed and the gunmen returned. But the attack on the gathering further heightened tensions in the campaign for the October mayoral election in Rio de Janeiro state, where several candidates have been killed or seriously injured in other attacks in recent weeks.

“Unfortunately, this is the policy we live with in Araruama. Those who cannot be bought, they try to silence. After the shooting started, we ran into the room, trying to protect the children. There were good families here, there were old people. There are people and children here, we were all discussing the future of our beloved Araruama, but we had to stop to save lives,” said councilwoman Peña Bernardez after the attack, guaranteeing that, despite the fear and risk, she will not abandon her candidacy.