These are Mayor Simão Peixoto of the Amazon city of Borba and a former councilor named Erineu da Silva. In September, the councilor publicly challenged the mayor to a fight.
‘Show your face’
He had criticized the board of Peixoto. For example, he was furious that the mayor had not properly maintained a water park near the Madeira River. Believing the mayor had failed, he demanded a confrontation. He called him, among other things, ‘a crook’.
Peixoto liked a fight. He published a video in which he indicated that he was prepared to beat his opponent. “Show your face”, was his message.
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Peixoto’s response had been criticized by some voters. They found the mayor’s behavior inappropriate. He then changed his tone and assured his constituents that they would only take part in an organized fight in the boxing ring.
At the beginning of November he wrote on his Facebook page: “I’m not a street fighter… I’m the mayor of the municipality of Borba. But if he really wants to fight, we’re ready to fight. I’ve always been a winner.”
Today, a month later, the fight actually took place. Mayor Peixoto stepped into the ring around 2:30 p.m. to take on the councilor.
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Pass pass
The fight, which was livestreamed, lasted 13 minutes. After three laps ‘the mayor of Borba could hardly walk anymore’, reported the news website BNC Amazonas. “The mayor was so beaten that his mouth fell open,” another regional news website reported Amazonian Fact.
But in the end Peixoto was the dominant party, according to the race management. Councilor Da Silva would have lost on points. The spectators were outraged by the result.
It is not yet clear what consequences the mayor’s profit will have.
Increasingly hostile
The fight is fueling fears that Brazilian democracy is becoming increasingly hostile. It was not the only political violence that took place last weekend. Yesterday, guards and supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro allegedly attacked journalists during a presidential visit.
“What we see is a reflex of the climate of hostility towards the press created by the president,” tweeted a Brazilian journalist yesterday. The president himself prefers not to receive difficult questions from journalists. Last year, for example, he wanted to ‘slap in the face’ a reporter when he questioned him.
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