A Brazilian mayor was shot dead on a rural road in the state of Sao Paulo on Thursday, the second murdered in Brazil in two days.
Francisco José Campaner, a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), was the mayor of Ribeirão Bonito, a small municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo (southeastern Brazil).
“Chiquinho”, as he was known, was shot when his vehicle was intercepted by individuals on a motorcycle in a rural area of that municipality. In the car also traveled the head of his office and a friend, who were hospitalized with injuries.
This is the second mayor murdered in Brazil in 48 hours, after the attack, also with a firearm, to João Gregório Neto, mayor of Granjeiro, a small municipality in the interior of the state of Ceará (northeast of the country).
The São Paulo Civil Police, Brazil’s most populous and richest state, reported that so far the perpetrators of the attack or the motives for the crime, which the authorities admit, may not be known are political.
Campaner, 57, single and without children, was elected in 2016 with 47.96% of the votes and had the majority in the House.
In September, the Brazilian court filed a lawsuit that the prosecutor opened against the politician for alleged use of public money for self-promotion.
The current governor of São Paulo, Rodrigo Garcia, has already mourned the politician’s death, in a statement in which he pledged police to investigate.
“It is with regret that we received the news of the death of the mayor of Ribeirão Bonito. We assure all police commitment to the investigations to determine the circumstances of his death and the other victims shot,” he said.
Campaner’s death comes two days after the assassination of the mayor of Granjeiro, who was also being investigated for fraud and embezzlement.
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