(Bloomberg) — Brazil’s political tensions soared as a former lawmaker resisted arrest and got into a gun battle with police who were carrying out a court order just a week before the cut-throat presidential runoff.
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Former lower house deputy Roberto Jefferson threw grenades at officers who arrived at his residence in Rio de Janeiro state on Sunday, the federal police wrote in a statement. In a video on social networks, Jefferson said he will not turn himself in, and that he would confront law enforcement.
Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who also heads the electoral court, ordered Jefferson’s detainment after he verbally attacked Carmen Lucia, another top court justice, in a video posted on social media. Jefferson was already under house arrest and forbidden from using social networks after having made threats to institutions including the Supreme Court.
Latin America’s largest economy is in the final stretch before the Oct. 30 presidential runoff. Major polls out last week showed contenders Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva near or in a technical tie. As the vote nears, authorities are also rushing to combat misinformation over social networks.
Two police officers were injured by grenade explosions, according to the police statement. They received medical care and were later released. Law enforcement reinforced their presence around Jefferson’s residence and remain in place to carry out the judicial order, the police said.
Bolsonaro and Lula criticized Jefferson’s insults against Lucia, which included a comparison to prostitutes. Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly attacked the Supreme Court during his term, also questioned probes allowed by the institution.
Jefferson had previously been barred from running in this year’s presidential election.
Sao Paulo
Sunday’s incident came as the rival candidates traded barbs in the nation’s most populous state amid a last-minute appeal to voters.
The government raised payouts in its social program Auxilio Brasil and added millions of people as beneficiaries, Bolsonaro said before a packed Evangelical church in the state of Sao Paulo, where he has held activities since Oct. 20. He said the political left doesn’t respect private property and families.
Speaking to press in the afternoon, Lula said his campaign will focus in coming days on explaining plans to strengthen the economy, boost employment and combat inflation. He said that he’s been victim of fake news and that the nation’s democracy is at stake.
Bolsonaro is working to hold on to Sao Paulo after unexpectedly winning the state in the first round earlier this month. It’s arguably the nation’s most important electoral prize, as it is home to about 25% of all voters and also represents a third of the entire economy.
Bolsonaro is scheduled to give an interview on national television later in the evening, while Lula will meet with social media influencers.
–With assistance from Daniel Carvalho.
(Updates with details starting in second paragraph)
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