President Petro harshly criticized the Ministry of Sports: 'It is a waste of time'

The Colombian president, Gustavo Petrotook possession this Tuesday of Luz Cristina López as the new Minister of Sports to replace Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez, who resigned after Barranquilla lost the venue of the 2027 Pan American Games for breaching the organization contract.

(You may be interested in: Luz Cristina López took office as Minister of Sports)

At an event at Narino Palace (headquarters of the Executive), the president asked the new minister, the third to hold office in this Government that began on August 7, 2022, to focus on investing more in education than “in cement.” “The more bricks are contracted, the more corruption there is, we believe that sport is the stadium, the infrastructure, but it cannot be the priority,” added the president, who expressed that his government is committed to “more education, less cement.” .

The new minister, a graduate in physical education, has experience in the sector and has worked, among others, in the Colombia Olympic Committee (COC) and in the Colombian Paralympic Committee. Likewise, she was the operational director of the Bogotá 2023 Youth Parapan American Games.

On February 15, the Minister of Sports resigned from her position weeks after the headquarters of the Olympic Games was withdrawn from Barranquilla. 2027 Pan American Games.

In January, the Panam Sports organization withdrew Barranquilla, capital of the department of Atlántico, from the headquarters of the Pan American Games for not complying with two payments of 4 million dollars, each for the organization rights, for which critics of the Government blame the minister.

Petro's criticism of the Ministry of Sports

President Petro himself had critical words regarding the need for the creation of the Ministry of Sports and described it as a “waste of time.”

“What I find in the current Ministry of Sports, which is, has been criticized, there are people who have criticized that it has become a Ministry, I am not a big enemy of that thesis, Coldeportes to a Ministry, the same thing that happened with Colciencias to a Ministry . I haven't exactly seen the goodness of having done that, I can't find it, it seems to me that it's more of a waste of time, but that's the norm“said the president.

“In sports, bricks are weighing more than education… the more bricks, the more corruption,” he added.

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