If bread is lacking, better bring some games
The logo of the 1983 Pan Am Games
The Chavernment asked the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) for the right to organize the 18th Pan American Games in 2019.
Those games would be held in Bolívar State (the host city is yet undecided) to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Angostura Congress.
Sports Minister Héctor Rodríguez admits that the infrastructure for the games has to be completely built from scratch. That’s pretty encouraging…
Caracas was the host of the 9th Pam Am Games in 1983, as part of Simón Bolívar’s bicentennial. Corruption in the organization of the games was so pervasive, they had to burn the evidence.
Other cities looking to host the 2019 games are Santiago (Chile), Bogotá (Colombia) and La Punta (Argentina). Right now, Santiago looks favored (it was the original host of the 1987 edition, which ended up in Indianapolis), as the next South American Games will be there next year. But anything goes with PASO, stuck with the same president since 1975.
This article brought to mind the famous phrase “panem et circenses”. Just when bread is scarce in the country, the Chavernment looks to a future sport event to distract us.
Caracas 83’s opening ceremony is now available on YouTube. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2.
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