Last 9 July, Rio’s public prosecution office introduced a regulation to ensure that the health care services provided to the two million people who will be attending the WYD celebrations, will not weigh on public coffers.
The whole operation has cost 7.8 million Brazilian reals (about 7.2 million euros) and was funded by a public contract.
Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes made it clear right from the start that the cost of the event’s resources would be financed by a mini public fund.
The public prosecution rejected the proposal claiming the WYD was a “private event” and could not therefore be given public funding. This created tension between WYD organisers and sparked resentment after weeks of demonstrations which coincided with Brazil’s Confederations Cup.
The dispute over health care services has caused growing concerns about safety during the Pope’s visit and risks disrupting the smooth running of the World Youth Day celebrations.
The World Youth Day 2013 organising committee has issued a statement to try to set things clear.
The statement says that the public prosecution office continues to ignore the fact that the requests for Rio to host World Youth Day 2013 were presented in writing by the federal government (signed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and ratified by the President of the Republic, Dilma Roussef), by State government and by the Prefecture of Rio de Janeiro.
The statement also says that legal action could have led to the total or partial cancellation of the scheduled WYD events and stressed that the request made by Rio’s public prosecution office failed to take into consideration that the WYD should be seen as any other big event held in Brazil, for example the Confederations Cup, the World Cup (2014) and the Olympics (2016).
Brazil’s judiciary reacted quickly given how urgent the matter it.
Last Thursday, Judge Roseli Nalin forbids public prosecutors from contesting the use of public funds to finance the WYD, backing the event’s organisers.
However, an appeal can still be presented against the Court of First Instance’s ruling.
The Judge stated that “the division between State and Church does not absolve the city of Rio from providing certain services to the event’s participants ,despite the religious nature of the event.”
“To deny health care assistance to pilgrims could cause uncertainty and discredit the country, not to mention the fact that it would put the health of thousands of people who will attend the event in Rio de Janeiro thinking they are guaranteed basic health care services, at risk," he said.