The mayor of Rio de Janeiro apologized on Monday after punching a constituent in the face for calling him the Portuguese equivalent of “excrement.”
According to 247 Brasil, Mayor Eduardo Paes was dining at the Japanese restaurant Yumê in the Jardim Botanico neighborhood when Bernardo Botkay called him a "turd."
Botkay, who is a musician and goes by the name Botika, wrote on his Facebook page that Paes punched him in the face. A Bing translation indicated that Botkay was angry because Paes "fucks our whole city every day."
A statement released by the mayor's office on Monday said that he had a "physical misunderstanding" with Botkay and his girlfriend.
"Personal attacks during private moments with my wife are not acceptable," Paes opined. "Despite the couple’s attacks, I should not have reacted as I did. I ask for forgiveness from the population of my city for the way I acted."
Botkay believes that the mayor has enacted policies to benefit wealthy real estate speculators and contribute to the gentrification of Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, The New York Times reported.
Watch this video from R7, broadcast May 27, 2013.
