translated from Spanish: Brazil’s Supreme Court begins trial on Copa America with three votes in favor

The plenum of the Supreme Court of Brazil began on Thursday the trial of several appeals that ask for the suspension of the Copa America due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the vote of three judges in favor of holding the tournament in the country. The eleven Supreme Court judges have until midnight to cast their vote in an extraordinary virtual session in which they will define the future of the Copa America, which Brazil hosted at the last minute after Argentina and Colombia, initial hosts, gave up, and is scheduled to begin on Sunday. The resources demand that, for health reasons, the holding of the event be suspended in the country, which accumulates more than 17.1 million cases of covid-19 and almost 480,000 deaths associated with the disease. Judges Carmen Lucia Antunes and Marco Aurelio Mello rejected appeals filed by the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) and the National Confederation of Metalworkers.THE PSB argues that Brazil “is going through the most acute phase of the pandemic” and that hosting the Copa America “represents absolute recklessness and negligence on the part of the federal authorities for public health.” On the other hand, Judge Ricardo Lewandowski, instructor of another action of the Workers’ Party (PT), also chose to allow the event to be held on the condition that the Government urgently present a security plan to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the tournament. Since Conmebol, the highest authority in South American football, announced Brazil on May 31 as the new and only venue for the 2021 Copa America, criticism has followed in the country, especially from political and health sectors. The decision was welcomed by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who denies the severity of the pandemic, decries restrictions to contain it and even went so far as to question the effectiveness of masks and vaccines. The president defends that in Brazil there are already international sporting events such as the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana and the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as well as the Brazilian Championship in the domestic sphere. However, the incidence of Sars-CoV-2 continues to rise in the South American giant, with an average over the past week of nearly 60,000 cases and 1,700 deaths per day linked to COVID. Last week there was even speculation of a possible boycott by the players, led by the Brazilians, who eventually decided to contest the tournament, although they criticized the way it has been organized. On the other hand, two important sponsors, Mastercard and the brewery Ambev, informed that they will not exhibit their brands or promote advertising actions in this controversial edition of the America’s Cup.

Original source in Spanish