After more than four years of revelations of widespread corruption within Brazil's political class,anger is running high in the country,and analysts initially predicted this would be a change election. But no true outsider has emerged.
Instead,Bolsonaro,despite being a congressman since 1991,has harnessed much of the anger and presented himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system. He also promises to confront a surge in crime,in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.
The public's anger is partially responsible for making this year's campaign the most unpredictable in years for Brazil,and the attack could lead to another seismic shift. The man leading polls,former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,has been barred from running by electoral authorities because he was convicted of corruption and is in jail. That puts Bolsonaro in the lead position,though it is unclear how the attack might affect the campaign for the October 7 presidential ballot.
In the hours following the attack in Juiz de Fora,about 200 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro,Bolsonaro supporters predicted it would carry him to the presidency.
"They made Bolsonaro a martyr,"said Jonatan Valente,a student who joined a small vigil for Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo."I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro."
But it is unknown when he can get out again on the campaign trail and if his injuries will impede his ability to campaign.
There were signs of the deep divide in Brazil at the vigil,when Bolsonaro's supporters briefly exchanged insults with some detractors who showed up.
Meanwhile,on Twitter many decried the stabbing and asked for prayers for the candidate,but others suggested he might have brought the attack upon himself or even staged it.
This is not the first time in recent months that violence has touched politicians. In March,while Lula was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment,gunshots hit buses in his caravan. No one was hurt. Also that month,Marielle Franco,a black councillor and gay rights activist in Rio de Janeiro,was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event.
While Bolsonaro has a strong following,he is a deeply divisive figure. He has been fined,and even faced charges,for derogatory statements toward women,blacks and gays.
He speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders. His vice presidential running mate is a retired general.
"It's likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate,that they had no other way to stop him,"said Mauricio Santoro,a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro's state university.
AP