President of Mexico pledges economic incentive to Paralympic athletes

Following the declaration of the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, to provide an economic stimulus to all the athletes who participated in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the director of Conade, Alfredo Castillo, indicated that this is a delicate issue as granting this request may lead to demands from the conventional athletes.

"I will discuss it with the Secretary of Public Education, and we will analyze the budget so that he can be fully aware of the athletes and see what mechanisms we can implement for those who participated, since now the conventional sports may demand the same," declared Castillo.

He added: "We have calculated that it is approximately 42.4 million pesos for the incentives for the Paralympic athletes. We are in the final stages and we are definitely committed. This amount is doubling the budget for conventional sports, plus a budget for the modernization of facilities and the creation of a structure for adaptive sports."

On the other hand, regarding the request from Paralympic athletes to equalize the scholarships from Fodepar with those of conventional athletes, Castillo indicated that it is not within his jurisdiction.

"I have to take it to the Committee, and it's not a decision that solely lies with me. We also have to justify it. Furthermore, the budget for the next year has already been reduced and we will have two billion 100 million pesos," he said.