Óscar Fernández on being head of the IPD: “If the country calls me, no matter which government is in power, what I must do is accept”

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—El Comercio learned that you are a candidate to preside over the IPD. Is that true?

Yes, I am applying for a position. That is correct.

—Have you already passed the interview?

At the right time, they asked me for information. I provided some of the information requested and passed. I corrected something in my CV. That is the status. We just have to wait for the appointment. That is the government’s responsibility.

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—You were an advisor to Sergio Ludeña, the current president of the IPD, for three days. Does that affect your candidacy?

Remember that I took over the Ministry of Labor in October last year due to an unforeseen situation related to Dina Boluarte’s government, which caused an emergency government to come in. So, when José Jerí’s government also ceased its functions, President (José María) Balcázar called me, and I continued until May 29 in the Ministry of Labor, from which I resigned that day. When I resigned, the sports parties I manage called me because I have been a sports leader for years; I have been president of the Ibero-American Athletics Association since 2019 to date, because a Pan American Games issue arose as we are against the clock. They asked me if I could take control of the Pan American Games and if they could provide me with advisory support.

—Advisor for the Pan American Games…

Actually, it would have been more than an advisor if I had not intervened in the organization itself. But when they decided to make that appointment, they confirmed to me that I no longer had the government’s support and simply told me they did not want to count on my services. So I resigned. That’s why I stayed there for three days. I may have an ideological view, but I work for the country. I have worked in very complicated situations. If the country calls me, regardless of the type of government, what I have to do is accept. If I have time, health, and can, I would accept. That is why Ludeña, who called me for that, made me feel a bit flattered because I felt he needed help, but if the government does not want that help, it was better that I resign.

—Do you think that weakens your candidacy?

I don’t know. It is professional work. It is what I know how to do. That is what I have been trained for. If that is seen as a bias or a problem, I think there would be more biases for having been Minister of Labor under President Balcázar. But, as I said, we are public figures who are willing and present to work.

—Since 2022, an IPD chief lasts on average 8 months. You have been in the position twice. Why does this happen?

You made me a note when I entered the IPD in 2016. And the same situation has not changed. The organization itself, according to the current sports law, makes the IPD a very complicated organization to manage because it has interventions and interests from various people. So, one can have one opinion and others have another, and it has become more of a popular fan issue. What the stands say.

—What do you mean by that?

I’ll give you an example with football. Today we apply a strategy to reach the World Cup. Halfway through, things are not going well, and everyone abandons the strategy. Therefore, the work is not completed, and they simply wait for another strategy to work. What should happen is that people who know about the subject have to be allowed to work to achieve a result. But those people have to lead and be trained in sports. I remember Gustavo San Martín. He was able to handle two years or more in a more unstable situation. When I was at the IPD, I served almost two years. And I promised that Peru would win 40 medals at the 2019 Pan American Games. And my prediction came true, even when I was no longer in office. But that is because I had set up the organization to achieve the goal.

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—So, the short time a president lasts at the IPD is due to lack of trust?

They have to trust in making a good team. If I am chosen or another important sports technician is, the key is to let them work, to produce a result in the project focus. It is not coherent to cut so many presidents. Now, if they are cutting them because they are presidents with no strategy, who entered for political reasons, that is another matter. So maybe the focus is that it has been highly politicized, which is why they last so little.

—What is your position on the future of Lima 2027?

The IPD had many problems before being assigned a greater responsibility, which was alleged. When they merged, the problem for the IPD intensified. So it is clear that the current president of the IPD is not only president of the IPD but also of the Pan American Games. We are talking about double work in an organization with many problems. What I see as a vision right now is to focus on ensuring that the organization of Lima 2027 is optimal, both the Pan American and Parapan American Games. For that, we have people who worked in Lima 2019 and other professional actors who are capable of making the event optimal. In parallel, we have to assign a sports area that can lead the medal possibilities we have for next year and support these athletes in the best possible way with all the resources we have. That is the immediate and primary plan to take.

—And what do you think about sports in general in the country?

I have to be honest: we need to propose a new sports law that involves physical activity as a very important element for the population, added to the recreational, school part and what is considered training for physical education teachers from the Ministry of Education. That plus sports, which are the federations. That is what needs to be worked on and enhanced with a new law.

—And the current law?

It no longer suffices; it is very old and causes different types of publications within an organization that is already one with many weaknesses and that many people, who have other interests, make noticeable. For example, one assumes the presidency of the IPD and cannot expect the Mariano Melgar stadium or the Puno stadium to be perfect the next month because these are infrastructure issues with a very old legacy that has not been addressed and are gaps that have not been closed. So, we have to see how to work with all this sports information to outline the path for sports for the next ten years. We have to implement the physical activity, recreation, and sports policy that is already approved and that we have to implement. All this has to go hand in hand with schools. And that is a challenge I took on because I was director at the Ministry of Education for the School Games. I have already done two school games, two events. The school games start at the UGEL stage, in schools, regional stage, national stage, and involve more than 2 million students. So we are capable of doing that. We also have to involve them in this organization of the Pan American Games.

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Marco Quilca León

Journalist at Deporte Total of El Comercio since 2018, the same year Peru fulfilled the dream of returning to a World Cup. Seven years at the newspaper covering Qualifiers, Copa América, World Cup, Olympic Games, Pan American Games, live and streaming. See more

marco.quilca@comercio.com.pe

@MarcoQuilca_06