25 July 2003

Castro congratulates DR on Pan Am
Cuban leader Fidel Castro has sent a congratulatory message to President Hipólito Mejía, according to Diario Libre’s sports section. He called on the athletes to compete “cleanly and amicably” and claimed that the Cuban authorities had not asked for any special security measures. Castro expressed confidence in the Dominican Republic’s capacity to hold the event successfully.

Dollar rate increased cost of Games
Games organizer José Joaquín Puello yesterday attributed the unexpected high cost of the Pan American Games installations (RD$5 billion) to the currency devaluation. He rejected insinuations that Games officials were receiving any personal benefits from their involvement in the project.

Puello says Mejía preferred to leave a legacy
The president of the Organizing Committee of the Pan Am Games, Dr. José Joaquín Puello says that President Hipólito Mejía was whom decided it was best for the Dominican Republic to build mega facilities for the Games. In an interview with Hoy newspaper he explained that President Hipólito Mejía requested three budgets: one with the remodeling of the existent installations, a hybrid one with remodeled and new installations, and a third with new installations that would be a legacy to sports in the country. He said that Mejía preferred to build world class installations that would last 25 or 30 years.
Puello defended the handling of the Games budget. He said that 70% of the resources have been managed by the Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Public Works. “We have only managed the staging of the Games, nothing more,” he said. He also pointed out that they have used the services of Price Waterhouse and a team of auditors of the Controllers Office,” he explained. Price was the same company that audited the collapsed bank Baninter over the years.
Spokesmen for the Olympic movements in Brazil, Canada and Argentina have commented on the Olympic standard venues the Dominican government built for the Pan Am Games.

Unions agree to suspend protests
The CNUS (National Council for Union Unity) has agreed to call a halt protests by its members for the duration of the Pan Am Games. This follows pleas from the Games organizer José Joaquín Puello and Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguez. However, another body, the COP (Coordination of Popular Organizations), has rejected the call. The trade unions made the announcement at a meeting with Labor Minister Milton Ray Guevara, while reiterating their demands for an increase in workers’ salaries in the public and private sectors, in keeping with the massive price rises caused by the peso’s devaluation over the last few months. Ramón Perez Figuereo of the COP said that “the government also needs to call a truce with the people, on power cuts, and price rises in fuel, food and services.” Government-intervened Listín Diario newspaper applauds the Church’s call, saying that “we have survived worse times…Let us redouble our optimism and faith, and prepare amicably to enjoy this fabulous sporting and social experience offered by the XIV Pan American Games.”

Athletes move in
The first group of 109 athletes from the Dominican delegation moved into their quarters at the Pan Am village yesterday. The remaining delegates will move in on Monday.
It is also reported in today’s papers that all the 720 apartments built to house the Games participants will be equipped with air-conditioning, following an observation by Mario Vazquez Raña that some of the accommodations did not contain this facility. So far, only the apartments assigned to the US, Brazil and Canada have air-conditioning because the Olympic Committees of those companies paid for the service. If all apartments have air-conditioning, the government will have to purchase 2,160 units and fit a considerably higher power bill. Power consumption is the responsibility of the host country.

Sánchez & Arrendel finals
Get your tickets early for the Friday, 8 August finals with Félix Sánchez running the 400-meter hurdles race at the Olympic Stadium. This is the Dominican Republic’s best chance at a gold medal.
On that same afternoon, Juana Arrendel gets an opportunity to avenge the confiscation of her gold medal for high jumping during the 1999 Winnipeg Pan Am Games amid charges of doping. She has maintained her innocence of the accusations. Sure to be priceless moments, tickets are RD$200/ RD$80.
http://www.panamgames2003.com/buying_event_tickets.html

Source: http://dr1.com

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