Political violence and xenophobia reported in São Paulo Metro

Multiple incidents of political hostility and physical aggression were reported on the São Paulo Metro on Sunday, October 18, following a political rally.

In one incident at the Butantã Station, businessman Diogo Freire Estevão, owner of DFT Logística, was filmed punching a woman wearing a red shirt. Estevão claimed self-defense, alleging the victim approached him, called him a “fascist,” and struck his neck. He further claimed he did not realize the victim was female due to her long dreadlocks. The victim filed a police report, stating she was insulted with terms like “dirty” and “drugged” before receiving three punches. The concessionaire Motiva reported that they attended to those involved but found no visible injuries at the time.

In a separate incident on the Yellow Line near Consolação Station, a woman wearing a Brazil jersey was recorded shouting xenophobic insults at another passenger. The witness reported that the woman told the passenger, who had Lula stickers on her belongings, that she should “go back to the Northeast” and “die of hunger there.”