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Peru invests three soles per citizen in sports

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Peruvian sports are trapped in time, said reporters for El Comercio, explaining there were records in the Andean country that had not been broken in almost 40 years.

Fernando Acevedo, one of Peru's past athletes that has not had his records broken affirmed he was not proud of this or the difficult situation the country was facing.

"The fact that no one has broken my records shows we have not progressed," said Acevedo, explaining that without proper funding and a serious plan for aspiring athletes history would not change.

To these troubles is added the fact that the country's ministry of economy has announced it will cut the Peruvian Sports Institute's (IPD) budget.

Arturo Woodman, head of the IPD, confirmed that the 2009 budget could be reduced by 20 million soles.

"When Alan Garcia came into office there was a 40-million-sol budget for sports. In 2007 it doubled to 80 million soles and this year we have reached 100 million," said Woodman, explaining this was three soles per Peruvian.

If this figure were cut, it would place the country's sports budget back at 80 million soles.

Woodman explained these figures were minute when compared to other South American countries such as Chile, which has a budget of $90 million and spends $6 per Chilean.

He added that Venezuela spends between eight and ten dollars per citizen.

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# Splaktar says :
6 September, 2008 [ 08:24 ]

Yes, but Peru 'invests' 1,000+ soles per person in cerveza!  Drinking is the national sport, not soccer.

# An American in Lima says :
6 September, 2008 [ 11:20 ]

Good for El Comercio for making these figures public and drawing the needed (and shameful) comparisons with expenditures by other S.A. countries.

Peru's Olympic delegation at Beijing overcame incredible odds to make it to the Olympics. Some of the athletes emerged from incredible poverty; Martia Portilla ran her first races barefoot because she had no money for sneakers/trainers. She and others received little to no financial support. 

Imagine how frustrating it must be to have incredible athletic talent, drive and determination, but to have none of the financial/training support that your peers in other countries have. That is what most of Peru's Olympians (other than US-trained Peter Lopez and Valeria Silva) experienced. 

They, and all of Peru's youth, deserve better. 

The Peruvian government and the private sector should combine efforts to raise Peru's sports programs to the next level. 

See my blog post "How Pitiful" at:  http://americaninlima.com/2008/09/06/how-pitiful-peru-spends-3-soles-per-peruvian-on-sports/

# More Info Please says :
8 September, 2008 [ 14:27 ]

This article needs more info!

Fernando Acevedo, one of Peru's past athletes that has not had his records broken affirmed he was not proud of this or the difficult situation the country was facing.

One of Peru's past atheletes in what sport? Badminton? Swimming? Wrestling? Diving? Track? Tennis? Weightlifting? Archery? Ping-pong? Geez, some more info would be helpful!

"When Alan Garcia came into office there was a 40-million-sol budget for sports. In 2007 it doubled to 80 million soles and this year we have reached 100 million," said Woodman, explaining this was three soles per Peruvian.

Which presidential term was he referring to? Back in the 80s or his current term? Thats a 20 year difference so is he saying it doubled in a couple years or over a 20 year period? 

...said Woodman, explaining this was three soles per Peruvian....
...such as Chile, which has a budget of $90 million and spends $6 per Chilean.

So first you quote soles and then later on you talk in terms of dollars?  It would make sense to convert the amounts in the article so we can have a better idea how to compare the figures.

I enjoy reading articles here but frequently I get frustrated by the lack of details or amount of coverage.  If the article is going to be so vague or you have no link to where it came from please don't post it here.  It's pointless to have articles here with no substance.