The victim, identified as Benedito Cardoso, was 42 years old and had engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with the perpetrator of the crime, a 24-year-old man.
The murder occurred Wednesday night at a farm in Confresa, a municipality of about 30,000 people in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (central-west).
Victor Donizete de Oliveira Pereira, a Civil Police delegate in Confresa, said that both men were alone on the rural property when a “politically motivated discussion” began.
“The victim was defending Lula and the author said he was defending Bolsonaro,” he added.
Cardoso first punched the assassin, which he returned. The fatal victim then took a knife to attack his opponent, who took the knife from him, chased him and then wounded him with it.
With Cardoso on the ground, the assassin took an ax and finished him off, giving him a total of 15 holes. He then tried to hide the weapons and escaped, according to Oliveira Pereira.
The police arrested the perpetrator of the crime after he presented himself at a hospital to receive medical attention.
Brazil is experiencing its most polarized electoral campaign in decades before the elections on October 2, in which Bolsonaro will seek re-election and Lula leads the polls.
“With great sadness I learned of the news of the murder of Benedito Cardoso (…) Intolerance took one more life,” Lula wrote on Twitter.
The fact “is a demonstration of the climate of hatred that is established in the electoral process” in Brazil, he added later in dialogue with the press in Rio de Janeiro.
The leftist leader maintains 45% of voting intentions, compared to 32% for the far-right president, according to a survey by the Datafolha consulting firm on September 2.
Faced with the climate of tension, the police have reinforced the security scheme. Both Bolsonaro and Lula have appeared at rallies wearing bulletproof vests and have generally avoided close contact with supporters.
“Candidates should urge their supporters to respect the positions of their political opponents and never resort to violence,” Juanita Estrada, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said in a note.
In another resounding case of political violence, which occurred on July 9 in Foz de Iguaçu (south), Marcelo Arruda, treasurer of Lula’s Workers’ Party, was shot dead at his 50th birthday party.
The murderer, a prison police officer who burst into the place, fired at the cry of “Bolsonaro rules here.” Arruda had decorated his party with photos of the leftist leader.
