New Paraguayan President Will Give His Support to the South American Games

(ATR) The election of a new President in Paraguay is received with wide optimism by the organization of the South American Games in Asunción in 2022.

Abdo Benítez won the elections three days ago with more than 46 percent of the votes ahead of his rival, Efraín Alegre of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party won more than 42 percent with a level of participation that exceeded 60 percent.

The president of the South American Sports Organization (ODESUR) and the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, Camilo Pérez López Moreira, believes that Abdo Benítez, the new president-elect of the conservative Colorado Party - the same as the current president, Horacio Cartes - will maintain his support for the games in 2022.

"I suppose so ... first the South Americans are a country-wide commitment," said Pérez to Around The Rings.

This event is considered the most important sporting event in Paraguay's history.

"The new President shares the same backing as the previous one and also the Games have a decree of support of national interest of the Presidency of the Republic and also of the National Congress," he said.

"I think we are on the right track to continue the work," said the South American sports leader, who hopes to meet soon with the new Paraguayan leader.

"But we are going to give some time to take care of the most pressing social issues and then we will ask for an interview," said the head of ODESUR.

Pérez revealed to ATR that a director of the future organizing committee "named in consensus with the Government and the Olympic Committee" has already been chosen and that "in due course" the new authorities will be contacted to formally ratify this process. "In that sense, we are calm," he said.

Currently the main focus of the president of ODESUR is on the XI South American Games in Cochabamba, Bolivia, which will be inaugurated within a month.

In Cochabamba "we believe that everything will turn out well".

He revealed that this last weekend he received a new report on the construction of the velodrome, the venue that has presented the most uncertainties. According to organizers, the velodrome will be delivered the first week of May. The Games in Cochabamba will take place between May 26 and June 8.

The velodrome will house 900 spectators. Due to the late completion of the venue, the track cycling competitions were about to be moved to another Bolivian municipality but that possibility is already ruled out.

"There is no concern with the other facilities," said the president of ODESUR.

The experienced Mexican cyclist Juan Miguel Alcalá Aguirre, specialist in testing velodromes before his official starts, recently rolled on the track of Cochabamba and said that it offers the feel and characteristics for "First World" competitions.

Those cyclists who want to try the first roofed velodrome in Bolivia have been advised to first make a high altitude camp to adapt, since Cochabamba is located at 2,600 meters above sea level.

The 250-meter runway was built by a Mexican company with pine wood exported from Finland and structural wood brought from the United States and Canada.

The South American Games of Cochabamba will be the first "big" Games under the responsibility of Pérez, who replaced the Brazilian Olympic leader Carlos Nuzman as ODESUR president last August.

A few weeks later, Nuzman was arrested on charges of allegedly buying votes for Rio de Janeiro's selection as Olympic host. Today he is under house arrest awaiting trial in his country.

The Paraguayan leader will complete Nuzman’s term until 2019 and then will seek re-election according to what he said to ATR.

"I think we are doing a good job and we have the support of the countries of the region, so I plan to continue," he said.

Last November, Perez had already had direct supervision of the South American Youth Games held in Santiago de Chile.

Cochabamba'18 will have 4,500 athletes, 1,600 coaches and officials, 1,200 referees and a hundred South American and continental managers.

The 14 countries will compete in 35 sports that will put 377 medal games into the contest.

Odesur is an organization that includes Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Camilo Pérez expects "very good Games" in the Bolivian city as well as feeling great optimism regarding the Pan American Games in Lima in the summer of 2019.

The president of the COP, re-elected in February, is also a member of the Executive Committee of Panam Sports. As such, he visited the Peruvian capital last March.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.