A bill that is in the City Hall of Três Corações, in southern Minas Gerais, wants to remove the name of Pelé from four locations in the city.
Presented by Councilman Ricardo Ferreira (Avante), known as Ricardinho do Gas, the proposal is that the square in the city center, the Municipal Gymnasium, the stadium of Clube Atlético Tricordiano and one of the main avenues of the municipality return to the names they had before be tribute to the king of football.
The project will be analyzed this Thursday (6) by the Local Chamber Justice Commission.
One of the ideas is that Pelé Square is known as Colonel José Martins again. According to artist Fernando Ortiz, researcher of the trajectory of the former player and known for the struggle for three hearts to embrace the history of the king of football, José Martins had four farms in the region and owned 43 slaves.
It was this study done by him, presented at the City Council in 2023, which caused the change of name that can now be reversed. There was already a statue in Pelé in the square.
“I argued that the image of the most famous black in the world was not in a place with the name of a slave,” says Ortiz.
The councilman’s advisory confirmed to Sheet the project. So far, he has not returned contacts from the report. Mayor Wesley Michel Rezende Dardaque (Somos) also did not respond either.
Dead on December 29, 2022, Pelé is the most famous name born in the city. According to the councilman’s advisory, the justification for the attempt to change is that having so many honors to the king of football means “to throw the story of three hearts in the trash.”
Ricardo Ferreira also wants the King Pelé Stadium of Atletico Tricordiano, where Dondinho, father of the king of football, played, renamed Elias Arbex, name of old mayor of the municipality; that the gym dubbed Pelezão is again called Vilelão, because of the former mayor and former state deputy Aílton Parnaíba Vilela; and that Avenida Rei Pelé is from new Avenida Ricardo Azeredo.
Other city authorities, heard by the report, have arguments similar to that of the councilman’s advisory. Elias Arbex, for example, was a leader at the time Dondinho played in the city and died while looking for a ball for Atletico Tricordiano to play.
But people from the city recognize that the initiative will be seen as an attack on the image of Pelé. Defenders of the measure respond that, in fact, it is about preserving the history of other people who were important to three hearts.
The reaction was also immediate from local citizens who defend all honors to Pelé.
Invited by the mayor to argue to the councilors against the bill, Ortiz says he does not intend to do so. However, it will write a letter explaining the reasons why it considers a scandal to remove any tribute to Pelé in the city.
The artist was one of the drivers of the renovation of the house where the star lived in childhood. The site has become a tourist attraction and receives about 300 people a day.
