SPORTS: The crazy Olympics and the reality of Latin America

Having recovered from the euphoria of the opening ceremonies at Sydney, I am appalled by the irrelevance of it all. A previous post lamented the women's judo competition in which two women brawl. In one of these games, a young woman crossed herself, grabbed her opponent, threw her to the ground, and then burst into happy tears, no doubt thanking the Virgin of her favorite saint.

The men's judo events were even grosser. A tough Brazilian slammed a Japanese to the floor, and stood victoriously over him while the Brazilian flag was raised and the Brazilian anthem sung. Please don't tell me this promotes international understanding.

The weight lifting competition was even sillier. A muscular young Mexican woman won a gold medal, and Mexico went wild. A poll was taken asking why Mexican won so few gold medals. One day all the TV news program was devoted to her. The next day half of it was, with the explanation that years of weight-lifting had badly damaged her knees and she was wondering where to get the money for the necessary treatment. Apart from a boost for the national ego of the various countries, what all this has to do with the welfare of the people is a mystery.

Meanwhile the real Mexican life went on. Mexico City marked with somber ceremonies the fifteenth anniversary of the worst earthquake in the city's history. There were touching ceremonies in which children aged fifteen, who as babies had survived the earthquake were honored, as were the firemen who had saved them. Pictures of the devastating earthquake made it clear that many buildings were of poor construction, and people wondered if today Mexico City is any safer. The city would have been better if the money and effort spent on the Sydney Games had been used to improve it.

There was a major political scandal when it was revealed that the telephone of Vicente Fox had been tapped and his private conversations recorded. He was convinced that a government department was responsible and vowed to invesstigate the matter. Naturally the government denied the charge. Fox said his plan was to separate intelligence services from the ministry of the interior (Gobernación).

In South America there was similar contrast between the world of sports and reality, as television continued to place heavy stress on sports. In Brazil the "landless" peasants besieging the Minas Gerais estate of President Fernando Hnrique Cardoso dug a grave and symbolically buried him, and then marched on Brasília. The angry president threatened to take action, while the abuse of government funds given by the government to the peasant organizations was amply documented.

That soccer euphoria in Colombia is a thin facade was evident in the responses of Colombian students at Stanford to the post on the chaos in Latin America. They ranged from harsh denunciations of the US to calls for military force to be used against the FARC and ELN guerrillas. The focal point of the discussion was the Plan Colombia.

In Peru, the bribery scandal which hit the Fujimori government and led him to announce his resignation was offset when a crowd filled Lima´s main square to cheer Fujimori. They were largeky lower class, grateful of his efforts to improve the slums. He astonished everyone by climbing with great agility to the top of a pillar in the palace railings to return the cheers of the crowd. there was much talk that the army would intervene, presumably to help Fujimori.

Chilean soccer and Olympic teams? The reality was that youthful mobs did great damage in Santiago. Like so much youthful violence, it seemed to be little more than vandalism. It made life difficult for the Socialist government, which was striving hard to improve the lot of the people.

Ronald Hilton - 9/21/00