Money, Economics, Politics,  Sports

How Pitiful! Peru Spends 3 Soles per Peruvian on Sports

A recent article in El Comercio, summarized in English by reporter Israel Ruiz, exposes why Peru performs so abysmally in international sporting events like the Olympics.

Here’s Ruiz’s complete story published today in Living in Peru:

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.

The comparisons are shameful.

(For the record: 3 soles translates to little more than US$1.)

Surely Peru can do better by its athletes. The proposed IPD budget cuts should not be allowed to take place.

Peru also should consider looking to the private sector to finance athletes.

How about an annual tax on foreign companies that do business in Peru to go to an athletic fund?

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.