With the banner that, since 2022, Tlaxcala was the epicenter of the best beach volleyball and archery in the world, Ana Gabriela Guevara closed her last week of management at the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (Conade) with the inauguration of the first stage of the High Performance Sports City in that entity. His presence was only protocol, because the construction project is a state investment, which will require several fiscal years. For the first stage executed in 2023, the amount represented 136.5 million pesos. The total investment, when the work is complete in 2025, will be 447.7 million.
That happened in Tlaxcala, but in the Municipality of Compostela in Nayarit, the relationship with Conade has been a great limitation. In a place with a population of 77,436 inhabitants, the aim is to create sports infrastructure with money that can be allocated from the public works budget.
This newspaper asked Conade for information on investment in sports infrastructure and the response was: “all areas of the institution are in the process of meeting with the people who will be the new director, they are in it 100% so they will not be able to attend to your request.”
To have an explanation about how Conade’s interest in the investment of sports properties was reflected and given the lack of quantitative information, El Economista consulted two testimonies from public and private sports life. To Gustavo Ayón, municipal president of the Compostela City Council for the period 2024-2027, and to Nelson Vargas, current aquatic center businessman, who has in his history the management of Conade (2000-2006) and the Mexican Swimming Federation ( 1981-1984).
Both leaders are located in different realities but agree on some points: there is no heritage of physical sports work to recognize from the Guevara era in Conade, nor economic planning for the maintenance and hiring of specialists to activate the population.
“The infrastructure in Compostela is deteriorated, abandoned, a great effort must be made to recover sports spaces, where children, young people and the entire family can do any type of sport. Being a former basketball player, we are going to work on that tenor. Away from the infrastructure, a program also has to be made to have coaches. “Do not abandon a basketball court without boards that does not have what is required for it to function properly,” said the new Mayor of the Municipality.
In November 2018, Ana Guevara assured that she would not create new infrastructure for any State in that year, and highlighted the lack of equipment for sports such as gymnastics, weightlifting and athletics.
_ In the last six-year term, what do you think remained pending in the construction or improvement of sports infrastructure?
“It is a fundamental question at the Municipal, State, and Federal levels, which senior government executives do not pay attention to. I live it every day. The infrastructure that is done at the private level is when one has the obligation to have the technical elements and professional people for each area. You do not have the luxury of having an infrastructure and not being clear about how it will be operated and managed so that it is not abandoned. You cannot afford to build a Sports Development Center and not know how to operate it and it will not be a burden on the federal treasury. Years ago, I was spokesperson for 12 pavilions of the National Center for the Development of Sports Talents and High Performance (CNAR). We convinced the Ministry of Finance that there would be a profit from the investment to operate it. It was thought that it should be addressed with recovery resources. “A businessman would not invest in something that is not useful.”explains Nelson Vargas.
Meanwhile, the promoter of aquatic sports in Mexico analyzes from his specialty in private initiative and Ayón in his first steps as a political leader will seek a solution to a direct conflict with Conade.
“We have a problem with Conade. About four administrations ago in Compostela they built a gym that was precisely going to be called Gustavo Ayón, but that gym had problems, the builder died and there were about 280,000 pesos left to spend. Today, the Municipality owes Conade close to 12 million with all interest. I have a good relationship with those who are going to remain in Conade, but this will have to be managed even with Claudia Sheinmbaum, because it is a serious issue that the administrations have let it pass, they have been ignoring the issue and the City Council is abandoned without cleaning up the situation. problem. Ana Guevara has had a rocky administration, but I will focus on what I can do as municipal president of Compostela. I hope we can achieve a lot with the new administration of Rommel Pacheco and Sheinbaum.
The “Titan of Zapotán” knows that its history is an example of the usefulness of local infrastructure. Ayón began his basketball career in 2003 with the high school team of the Popular Autonomous University of the State of Puebla (UPAEP), where he graduated in Communication Sciences. In his career, there is the NBA and the Spanish professional league. His political trench was the alliance between the Morena, PT, PVEM and Fuerza X México parties.
“The experience I have in life in sport is going to be fundamental, because personally, what helps the most is the family environment, but we must make it healthy, with events where athletes are involved. We must be inclusive with the social issue and empathetic with our environment. You need infrastructure and the creation of a talent monitoring program, which can come from places you least imagine. Infrastructure with adequate and decent places to achieve a physical and emotional impact, adds Ayón.
Obesity is one of the main health problems in Mexico, 70% of the population is overweight and almost a third suffers from obesity, in addition, it is a disease that is associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, among others.
Physical activity is an antidote, and this medium asked Guevara on September 24 about the actions carried out in his six-year term in social sports.
“I clarify that we do not see social sport, there is an area that assists social sport that works collaboratively with the municipalities and promotes a program, but for Conade social sport is not its priority faculty, that is what municipalization is for. of sport and the task that corresponds to the States. And something that is not understood and is not put into dimension is when athletes come out ‘dropping’ that has nothing to do with the national team nor with the Conade. There are emerging or already institutionalized sports that are the responsibility of the municipalities,” Ana answered.
In this regard, Nelson Vargas said:
“The money is enough if it is well managed. In six years, Guevara’s Conade took 15,000 million plus all the extra bonuses. For Pan-Americans, Central Americans, I think about 18,000 million. People don’t want to attend sports because the facilities are bad. There is no planning for that kind of thing. I am proud, I have 17 branches, and the first 30-year-old branch looks new, maintenance is culture. Many times the infrastructure is created for third parties; legislation must be passed so that this does not happen. Both the social infrastructure is not just some fields. Planning is needed on how to manage.”
