Does Bolsonaro intend to gain the lost popularity with the Copa América?

President Jair Bolsonaro sees in Brazil’s Copa América, highly questioned in a country that is entering the third wave of the pandemic, an opportunity – albeit risky – to regain his lost popularity in order to try to reach the presidential elections of 2022 with a better face.

After being ruled out in Colombia by the social outbreak and in Argentina by the resurgence of the virus, the ultra-rightist president, faithful to his principle that life (and the economy) continue despite the virus, which is close to one million Brazilians killed by the disease made the country of football available to Conmebol, highlights a report by Marta Miera for RT.

«He tries to present a positive agenda to his constituents and to the country in general. Since the covid-19 began, Bolsonaro wanted to send a message of normality that never came and this has affected him politically», says Creomar de Souza, founder of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy to RT.

But it will not be easy for him to achieve this goal. Experts warn that holding the world’s oldest national team tournament in Brazil could exacerbate the pandemic.

The Latin American giant, with more than 474,400 deaths, is installed on a plateau of nearly 2,000 daily deaths. The timid quarantine measures were relaxed to a minimum weeks ago, with which the cases have a tendency to rise again.

In addition, most states are with their respective hospital system at the limit, several variants of covid-19 circulate and vaccination is progressing slowly: less than 11% of the 212 million Brazilians have been immunized with the two doses.

Criticism of Bolsonaro for hosting the tournament

In such a context, health experts from inside and outside the country shook their heads at Bolsonaro’s decision to host the tournament that starts this Sunday and will end on July 10.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already commented that «some countries should reconsider their decisions to organize massive events, if they do not have adequate risk management», in a clear reference to Brazil.

This mistrust has also been reflected in social networks where memes circulate about the one renamed ‘Cepa América’ in which, for example, a coffin is seen playing with a ball in the form of coronavirus or Messi and Neymar dressed as astronauts so as not to catch the coronavirus.

Despite the criticisms and warnings, the Brazilian government assures that the championship will be played «in a controlled sanitary environment», as Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Monday night.

The matches will be played without an audience and, although the government does not require mandatory immunization, at least eight of the ten delegations (made up of a total of 65 people including players and staff) will be fully vaccinated. They will also undergo a PCR test every 48 hours.

The teams will travel in chartered planes between the four tournament venues (Brasilia, Goiania, Cuiabá and Rio de Janeiro), and the players will have restricted mobility to avoid crowds.

But for many, the worst thing is not the health risks of the Copa América in Brazil, but the bad example that Bolsonaro is setting in the face of the pandemic and the lack of respect for the victims and their families.

“The Copa América in Brazil is a debauchery and a lack of respect for the 460,000 families in mourning in the country. The decision was made exactly at the moment when the third wave is beginning in the country. As a football fan, I regret that sport is increasingly distancing itself from the people”, said epidemiologist Pedro Curi Hallal.

«Fora Bolsonaro»

Bolsonaro is one of the world’s leaders most questioned for his chaotic management of the pandemic. For weeks, he has been the subject of an investigation in the Senate on possible omissions in the health crisis, and some of the appearances at the hearings have already hinted that there were failures in the purchase of vaccines.

Demonstrations and ‘cacerolazos‘ (The banging of the pans as protest) with the slogan ‘Fora Bolsonaro’ [Out with Bolsonaro] are gaining intensity over the months.

A recent poll revealed that 49% of Brazilians are in favor of an ‘impeachment’ against the ultra-rightist and that 55% favor the former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – his archrival – to win the presidential elections of 2022.

Lula’s formation, the Workers Party (PT), appealed to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) the celebration of the Cup, vilified by the majority of opposition organizations and at least six governors, who refused to host it.

But from the Planalto Palace, headquarters of the Executive, it is thought that a victory for Brazil in the field can translate into a great political triumph.

However, Souza recalls that if the ‘Seleçao’ does not win the competition, the opposite effect could occur and that the defeat of Brazil could translate into a failure of the government.

Brazilian ‘soap opera’

The tournament has also given rise these days to a whole ‘soap opera’ behind the scenes of the Brazilian soccer world.

Some players and the technical commission of the ‘Seleçao’, led by Tite, showed their opposition to contesting a championship that they consider has been decided in a hasty manner and it was even rumored a possible boycott.
It was finally leaked that the players will participate in the tournament, but a statement is scheduled to be released on Tuesday after a match with Paraguay for the World Cup qualifying rounds.

Tite’s support for the players would have caused unrest in the government and, according to the press, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Rogerio Caboclo, promised Bolsonaro to replace the coach.

Meanwhile, Bolsonarista followers, with Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the president, launched attacks on the networks against the technician to the point that the ‘hashtag’ #TiteComunista became one of the most commented on Twitter.
In the midst of this tension and to the surprise of many, on Sunday, just a week before the championship, it was announced that Caboclo was removed from office for thirty days after a complaint of sexual and moral harassment, which he denies.