This was a complete noob error:
Part of the process of preparing the .apk file is to unzip the .apk created by the Cordova build process, then delete the META-INF folder, and then reinstall and rename it back to .apk. The mistake I made was that when reinstalling I fastened the FOLDER folder, instead of fastening the CONTENT of the folder.
Another way of saying that I created the Archive directory is one too high in the way.
I leave the question and send the answer in the hope that it will help someone else.
source share