09/06/2021 12:54 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 09/06/2021 1:42 AM
The world saw one of the biggest scandals in the history of the South American Qualifiers live this Sunday, with the suspension of the match between Brazil and Argentina after the local health authorities literally interrupted the match by entering the field of play.
The person responsible for what happened is
Antonio Barra Torres, the military man in charge of Anvisa
, the agency that acted.
Rear Admiral of the Brazilian Navy and vascular surgeon
, Barra Torres combines qualities that resemble the high profile that Sergio Berni displays in these latitudes.
The strident Brazilian official took office as director of the National Health Surveillance Agency on November 4, 2020, amid the evil and controversial handling of the coronavirus pandemic by the government of Jair Bolsonaro.
Born in Rio de Janeiro on April 8, 1964, he graduated as a doctor from the Souza Marques Technical-Educational Foundation and did his residency in vascular surgery at the Marcílio Dias Hospital.
He joined
the Navy in 1987
and reached the rank of Rear Admiral, the third highest in the corporation, in 2015. As a civilian, he was an instructor at the Santa Casa de Misericórdia.
And as a military man, director of the Navy Medical Experience Center and the Navy Medical Assistance Center.
According to the Brazilian media
Istoé at the time
, when he was evaluated by the senators of the Senate Social Affairs Committee (CAS), on October 19 of last year, Barra Torres was classified as a person of
"intellectual and moral affinity."
to occupy the position, although the military was the talk of the moment for adding
his fondness to travel
between his antecedents to occupy the position.
In his report, Senator Romario (glory of the national team) cited
Barra Torres'
military experience
and stressed that he promised to act for the "good of Brazil."
Istoé
, on the other hand, focused on his profile as a tourist globetrotter: "We learned that he knows Casablanca, in Morocco, for example. He also emphasized including his hobbies, such as
car
racing
and
amateur
photography
."
That medium defined Barra Torres as a "traveler" who opted for
"an accidental technician
.
"
Known by Bolsonaro in the military circles of Rio de Janeiro, both shared from the beginning an idea close to
minimizing the
coronavirus
pandemic
, with the priority not to harm economic activity.
When analyzing his curriculum vitae, available on the Anvisa website, he draws the attention that he closes with his
"sports activities and topics of interest"
and the cities of the world that he visited.
There those interested in his personal life may notice that Barra Torres is fond of karate, motor racing, "
oil painting on canvas"
and "
military collecting"
, among other things.
The match between Brazil and Argentina was stopped by Anvisa.
Photo Marcello ZambranaXinhua
In February of this year, Barra Torres met with Daniel Scioli.
The Argentine ambassador then explained that the Anvisa agency is "in charge of giving the sanitary approval of medicines and of
establishing requirements for the export
of various other products to Brazil, such as cosmetics and food," as he wrote on his Facebook account.
"I expressed my gratitude for the approval of the export of Midazolam to Argentina last December. ANVISA approved the shipment of 1.5 million doses of the drug, a sleep inducer for patients
intubated by COVID,
" Scioli said about your interlocutor.
Barra Torres's explanation
The director of the National Health Surveillance Agency, Antonio Barra Torres, assured this Sunday that the decision to enter the Neo Química Arena field and suspend the match between Brazil and Argentina, for the Qualifying for the Qatar World Cup, responded to the
"Sanitary infraction committed by four Argentine footballers"
.
They are Emiliano Martínez,
Cristian Romero
, Giovani Lo Celso and
Emiliano Buendía
who had been warned hours before, according to the official, not to leave the Marriot hotel in San Pablo while waiting to be deported after having omitted in the sworn statement when arriving in Brazil that days before they had been in the United Kingdom.
"The four Argentine players received orders to remain isolated to be deported. But it was not respected. They went to the stadium, entered the field,
the sequence is one of disobedience,
" said Barra Torres in dialogue with ESPN.
And he insisted: "The four players
will be fined and sanctioned for the sequence of sanitary infractions
. They did not comply with the Brazilian sanitary regulations."
Despite Anvisa's demand, Conmebol had given the
green light
for the four players to be part of the National Team in the qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The match between Brazil and Argentina ended in scandal.
Photo Sebastiao Moreira / EFE
What is Anvisa and what did it say
Created by Law No. 9,782 of January 26, 1999, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) is an
autarkic entity with a special regime
, which has its headquarters and jurisdiction in Brasilia, and is present throughout the country governed by Jair Bolsonaro through the coordination of ports, airports, borders and free zones.
In the organization chart it depends on the Ministry of Health of Brazil.
Its institutional purpose is "to promote the protection of the health of the population, through the
sanitary control of the production and consumption of products and services subject to sanitary surveillance
, including the environments, processes, supplies and technologies related to them, as well as the control ports, airports, borders and free zones ".
With a statement published at noon this Sunday and updated an hour later, Anvisa marked its position: for the entity of the Ministry of Health,
the players lied
. The agency notified the health authorities and the Brazilian Federal Police, also advising on the quarantine of the athletes and their immediate return to their country of origin. The full text of what he had established.
"Faced with the information that four Argentine players entered Brazil in breach of the country's health regulations, by allegedly declaring
false information in an official form
of the Brazilian health authority, Anvisa met with representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Coordination of Disease Control from the São Paulo State Department of Health this Saturday (4/9) ".
"After a meeting with the health authorities, it was confirmed, after consulting the passports of the four players involved, that the athletes did not comply with the rule for the entry of travelers on Brazilian soil, provided for in Interministerial Ordinance No. 655, of 2021, which establishes that foreign travelers who have passed through the United Kingdom, South Africa, Northern Ireland and India in the last 14 days, cannot enter Brazil ".
"The players in question stated that they have not passed through any of the 4 countries with restrictions in the last 14 days. The travelers arrived in Brazil by plane from Caracas / Venezuela to Guarulhos. However, unofficial news reached Anvisa reporting alleged statements made by said travelers ".
"Upon the news, Anvisa immediately notified the National Health Surveillance Strategic Information Center (CIEVS / MS), which coordinates the CIEVS network, responsible for epidemiological research with the state of São Paulo and the municipality of Guarulhos, so that the if investigated and traced ".
"Upon verifying that the information provided by the travelers was false, Anvisa clarifies that it has already communicated the fact to the Federal Police, so that measures are taken immediately
within the scope of the police authority
."
"There is a
notorious breach
of Interministerial Ordinance No. 655/2021 and Brazilian immigration control regulations."
"Anvisa considers that the situation is a
serious health risk
, so it advised the local health authorities to determine the immediate quarantine of the players, who cannot participate in any activity and must be prevented from remaining in Brazilian territory, in accordance with article 11 of Federal Law No. 6437/77 ".
DB / DS
Look also
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A health dispute turned the classic Brazil-Argentina into a global scandal