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• Sports
• 07 / 05 / 2007

Holding the International Olympic Committee meeting in Guatemala gives hope to small countries for leading roles in world sporting events, asserted Cuban representative Reynaldo Gonzalez Wednesday.

Gonzalez, IOC member and of Pan American Olympic Solidarity, explained to Prensa Latina the importance of assigning the responsibility of organizing this meeting to a Central American nation.

"It's laudable that Guatemala, amid difficult political and economic situations and at its development level, hosts an event of such a high level, with three presidents of important countries as guests," he said.

To host Olympic Games is a legitimate aspiration for poor nations, as Cuba has repeatedly pointed out, Gonzalez recalled.

He noted the contradiction that should be resolved between the growth of the games and the interests of the huge media and the patron companies that buy rights with billions of dollars.

"When our capacity [to do that] is compared to those of cities like Paris, London or New York, the difference is as great as the centuries of colonization we have suffered," the Cuban sports official said, "It is time to give an opportunity to millions of people who live in the poor world."

He used the example of Cuba, a nation with a small population and victimized for more than 45 years by a severe economic, financial and commercial blockade, which however is among the top ten Olympic places in the world.

Source: Prensa-latina.com