The scandal behind National Sports Commission (Conade) director Alfredo Castillo is only getting bigger and louder, as until now, previously-unknown amateur boxer Misael “El Chino” Rodríguez has obtained a bronze medal for Mexico, even if he lost the fight Thursday.
Senator Miguel Barbosa, leader of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) in the Senate, became the harshest critic of the Conade director and badmouthed Castillo, saying he led the Mexican Olympic Delegation to outright failure and accused him of showing “a frivolous behavior from someone who has no sports experience and a conflicting, arrogant character that is overbearing.”
Regarding the proposal made by several other senators to summon Castillo and have him explain what he did with the 2.8 billion pesos ($153 million) budget allocated to Conade by the federal government through the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), from which Conade depends, senator Barbosa and the PRD senators are against an appearance of Castillo at the Senate.
Barbosa said that an appearance to explain the Conade budget expenditures would only lead to “him telling lies, faking his innocence. We do not have a parliamentary system that allows for the confirmation of what he’d say.”
He recalled at that the Auditing Office of the government, “there are 1,300 observations that the office has over the expenditure of those resources.”
Another reason as to why President Enrique Peña Nieto should immediately fire Castillo without any further comment “the moment he gets off the plane that will bring him from Brazil” is that he’s seen as the president’s protégée but by doing so, “President Peña Nieto will show that his Cabinet and his inner circle is not one of friends. It is a circle of public servants who must be held accountable and must perform with effectiveness and efficiency and, of course, act according to the law.” Castillo is taking advantage of the close friendship he boasts with President Peña Nieto, the senator added.
Senator Barbosa says that Castillo has “made a mess” of his post and signaled out the many sports federations as well as the Mexican Olympic Committee, which will return from the Rio Olympics with a debt of $1 million.
As a result of the Mexican athletes’ “disastrous performance,” Barbosa says he will introduce a bill to revamp the entire structure of the public policies the government regarding organized sports and participation in Olympic games.
“This bill will be discussed by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and will include private enterprises and all of the amateur sports federations and all those involved in competition sports. We do not have a development plan as a public policy on sports in Mexico,” he said.
But in the meantime, Barbosa said that “Castillo should be immediately removed either by Education Secretary Aurelio Nuño or by Peña Nieto.” This, because it was Peña Nieto who appointed Castillo to lead the Conade and manage its budget.
“What we are demanding is that, the moment he gets off the plane, he writes and turns in his resignation” for the total lack of medals shown and the woes the only medalist Misael Rodríguez had to undergo to stay alive in the Olympic qualifying process as Conade denied funds to the Mexican (amateur) Boxing Federation.
The Rio Olympics will conclude Sunday and for Alfredo Castillo the weekend will represent the calm before the storm waiting for him in Mexico.
The great question remains if President Enrique Peña Nieto will actually oust him from the Conade management or not. In the end, this is the President’s call but, in the opinion of the general public, Alfredo Castillo’s name is mud.