According to a state civil police investigation and a witness, a federal prison guard who was yelling support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro shot and killed a local politician from Brazil's leftist opposition Workers' Party (PT) on Saturday (July 9).
Municipal guard and a PT official Marcelo Arruda was killed by Jorge Jose da Rocha Guaranho as he was attending his birthday party in Foz de Iguacu, in the state of Parana, in southern Brazil.
Marcelo Arruda was married and the father of 4 kids, together with a 1-month-old child. He was a municipal guard for 28 years, director of the Union of Municipal Servers of Foz do Iguaku (Sismufi), and treasurer of the native PT. In the 2020 election, he was the candidate for vice mayor of Foz by PT. The ticket acquired 2.2% of the legitimate vote.
A PT statement claims that Arruda, who was also armed, shot back and killed Guaranho.
The deaths of the two men portend poorly for an election in October that many anticipate will be extremely contentious in Brazil due to political tension. The PT's presidential nominee, the leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is now ahead of Bolsonaro in the polls.
Invoking baseless allegations of election fraud and issues with Brazil's internationally regarded electronic voting system, Bolsonaro, who has long railed against Lula and his leftist supporters, has floated the notion of not accepting any electoral loss.
According to a state civil police record and a witness who spoke with Reuters, Guaranho showed up at the party without being invited, brandished a gun, and shouted insults and pro-Bolsonaro statements to the party attendees.
Aluizio Palmar, a journalist present at the celebration, reported to Reuters that a man entered and began yelling in Bolsonaro's support and calling him a "legend."
Palmar said that after leaving, the man came back with a revolver in his hand and pointed it toward Arruda.
Arruda, who introduced himself as a member of the security forces, commanded him to stop.
The PT statement, the police investigation, and security camera photos in the local media all claim that both men subsequently opened fire, killing one another.
"Another dear comrade passed away this morning, a victim of intolerance, hatred, and political violence," said the PT's national president Gleisi Hoffmann in a statement.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Bolsonaro's office.
Bolsonaro re-posted a 2018 tweet "refusing support from those who practice violence against opponents" on social media.
"I ask these types of people, for consistency, to change sides and support the left," Bolsonaro said in the tweet.
Jair Messias Bolsonaro is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since Jan. 1, 2019, up to the present.
