The pools of the Civic Center, built by the Central Bank 37 years ago, "after a titanic effort" in just ten months to become "a pride of Guayaquil and a permanent reserve for youth", which sought to satisfy "a fair and flattering longing," said EL UNIVERSO on July 9, 1982 - when the work was handed over - are now unusable, unused for five years, in a deplorable state and punished by the forgetfulness of the National Government, which now says it is focusing on being the headquarters of the FIFA World Cup for 2030.
Paradoxically, the Ministry of Sports, which intervened in the Guayas Sports Federation eight months ago due to "imminent danger of damage to state sports assets" in provincial venues, has not sought to solve the deterioration of the world-class property, which has a greater risk of destruction than that of Fedeguayas.
Andrea Sotomayor has been the Secretary of Sports for 28 months, but when asked about the Forestal pools - which have a sign from the Ministry of Sports on the facade of the complex - she still responds that she does not know if they belong to the State department where she works or if they are the responsibility of another entity. Or sometimes she says that resources will be sought for their remodeling. "The values are being managed to recover the pools" in which "the University of the Arts also wants to be part of the matter. Everything is "in the analysis stage," she declared in EL UNIVERSO in October 2018.
In September of the previous year, Israel Verdugo, the then coordinator of Zone 5 of the Ministry, commented on the misfortune that the Forestal swimming venue has become, indicating that "processes" are still being carried out for repairs or remodeling. "It is true that they are not in good condition, several inspections have been carried out and information has been collected to start the procedures. The pools have been unused for several years. This is something we inherited (from the previous Government). We must follow a process to find a solution," he said.
And then Sotomayor mentioned "a budget of around $2.3 million to recover the scenario that is in total abandonment. That also obliges us to request extra resources from the Ministry of Finance, but it also entails further analysis: do we make such an investment to recover the two pools?"
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Sotomayor gave another version to EL UNIVERSO last August: "The pools do not belong to the Ministry. There is a legal problem. The Ministry of Culture never transferred it. We are trying to find a way to pay off the debts for drinking water and others. We must first solve the legal issue. If we are going to invest there (Forestal complex), it must be done with proper planning, because its repair costs $2 million and a little more."
After the National Government focused its attention on asking FIFA for the shared host for the 2030 World Cup (CONMEBOL supports another candidacy) and the Ministry of Sports announced that it will seek the delivery of $4 billion from the Ministry of Finance for that tournament, sports leaders recall that "there are other priorities" and ask the State to "be realistic."
The stairs leading to the bleachers of the pools are destroyed, with mold.
Yesterday, during a visit to one of the venues of the Guayaquil Swimming World Cup in 1982, it was found that the area, which covers 8,000 square meters and for which the Oswaldo Hurtado government paid around 36 million sucres for its construction, is in ruins. The Olympic and semi-Olympic pools are without water, there is weeds at the bottom of them, trash, dead iguanas, and more waste. There is no trace of the tiles and the bleachers, with a capacity of 2,000 people, are filthy areas. The administrative and press offices are similar to caverns. Does the "excellent lighting system" mentioned in 1982 still work?
Due to the speed with which the world-class complex was built, EL UNIVERSO highlighted, on July 9, 1982, "the example of honesty." But also, in what appears to be a kind of prediction regarding the tragic fate of the pools, mention was made in the note of "a time when procedures are distorted and duties are omitted." (D)