A funny thing happened in the hours after Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right congressman from Rio de Janeiro, was stabbed during a campaign stop this month: Brazils beleaguered stock market bounced upward , on the belief that the attack on the controversial front-runner in Brazils upcoming presidential elections would boost his support and improve his chances of victory.

Bolsonaro is a former army officer who has praised the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. He has declared a female fellow legislator unworthy of rape, suggested that indigenous Brazilians are not suitable for procreation, called immigrants scum and, at different points over the last two decades, called for the murder of his political opponents. His running mate has suggested that Brazils military could return to power . The combination of the two on the right-wing Social Liberal Partys ticket has fostered fears that Bolsonaro would pose a deep threat not only to Brazils most vulnerable populations and but also to the very existence of its 30-year-old democracy.

After two decades spent on Brazils political fringes and with less than a week until the first round of elections on Oct. 7, Bolsonaro has surged to the top of pre-election polling, which suggests he will face former So Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad of the leftist Workers Party (or PT, for Partido dos Trabalhadores) in the second round at the end of October.

While Wall Street and market-focused elites had warned of the dangers of putting a right-wing populist in charge of the worlds ninth-largest economy, the markets performance on the day of his stabbing was the most obvious indication yet that Brazils investor classes now see Bolsonaro as a man they can get behind, especially if it means keeping the left from returning to power.

It was the clear sign of the market view that if this guy wins, then the [Workers Party] doesnt, said Thiago Figueiredo, a trader and analyst at Horus GGR in So Paulo. So lets celebrate. And thats what the market believes, that hes the best option.