Associated Press

 

Lawmakers and political parties in Brazil are stepping up the pressure against Brazilian President's decision to host Copa America.

Bolsonaro and his administration are also under fire from health experts for pushing to host the tournament despite Brazil having the second-highest death toll from COVID-19.

Senator Renan Calheiros, rapporteur at a Senate inquiry on the president's handling of the pandemic, appealed to Brazil striker Neymar at Tuesday's meeting, asking him to reject the competition.

Less than 11% of the Brazilian population has been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data, an online research site.

More than 463,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, second only to the United States.

Analysts expect another wave of the disease to hit the country by late June.

Many hospitals have more than 80% of their intensive-care units occupied by infected people