The Brazilian weekly magazine Veja hosted a televised debate with the mayoral candidates of São Paulo on Monday – but three of the four candidates with the highest poll ratings decided not to take part.

Incumbent Ricardo Nunes, left-wing congressman Guilherme Boulos and television presenter José Luiz Datena (with poll ratings of 23, 22 and 14 percent respectively) ignored the event due to the disruptive presence of far-right candidate Pablo Marçal, a life coach and social media influencer who shares third place with Mr. Datena at 14 percent.

During the two previous televised debates, on August 8 and 14, Mr. Marçal unsettled his competitors with personal attacks, charged language and baseless accusations. Among the outrageous statements Mr. Marçal made in the first debates was calling the leading candidates “scum” and “the same shit.” He also claimed (without a shred of evidence) that Mr. Boulos was “São Paulo’s biggest coke sniffer.”

The outsider candidate, who rose in each new round of polls, has managed to throw into chaos the otherwise pasteurized structure of Brazilian televised debates, whose rules are restrictive to protect the candidates. With Mr. Marçal on stage, the debates have figuratively turned into fistfights.

Without mentioning Mr Marçal by name, Mayor Nunes criticized the attacks by candidates who had not participated in previous debates to present proposals, “but to make internet clips.”

The decision by Messrs. Nunes, Boulos and Datena not to engage with Mr. Marçal is risky because it gives him a platform to disparage his opponents unhindered. This is particularly true for Mr. Nunes, whose re-election rests on the support of the far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro – but Bolsonaro’s supporters are precisely the voters with whom Mr. Marçal is growing in popularity.

Nevertheless, the debate took place despite the small number of participants. The other candidates, who together only received 25 percent of the vote according to recent polls, criticized their missing colleagues.

Congresswoman Tabata Amaral said that a debate is “not for the candidate to enjoy,” but rather an obligation to the voters. She described the withdrawal of Mr. Boulos, Mr. Nunes and Mr. Datena from the debate as “great cowardice.”

During the debate, Mr Marçal refused to answer direct questions and used the time to read out his proposals without necessarily referring to what was asked of him. He said he would answer questions later via his social media channels.

“I will use all my time to talk about my program. Anyone who wants those answers (to discuss questions) can check out my Instagram,” he said.