Mexico's participation in next year's Olympics "could be in jeopardy because of a conflict between the government and national sports federations," according to Carlos Rodriguez of the AP. The sports bodies are facing financial inspections by a national government agency, which is "questioning how funds are being spent." The IOC opposes political interference in national sports bodies. Mexican Olympic Committee President Carlos Padilla Becerra said, "It would be a tragedy if Mexico does not participate in the Olympics, although I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm sure this will not happen. Higher-ranking national officials will not prohibit our athletes from competing." Mexico's National Commission for Physical Culture & Sport (CONADE) Dir Alfredo Castillo "has been critical of the Olympic Charter, which among many other things spells out the non-interference rules." He said, "The Olympic Charter is the best invention that has been created to avoid monitoring of how public money is spent and what it yields." Castillo has focused on the national federations that run archery, boxing and basketball, "and has looked into others." Padilla said he met with Castillo but "failed to find an agreement." He said he showed IOC President Thomas Bach documents "that he said showed government interference." The IOC did not immediately respond to an email. If Mexico is suspended, its athletes "would be barred from representing their country at the Olympics" (AP, 11/19). EL UNIVERSAL reported Castillo said, "What is in play is not the Olympics but the future of sport in this country and the mercenaries can only allude to blackmail." Castillo added that CONADE will not allow resources from the government allocated to sports "to be used to enrich the federations that do not allow for sports development" (EL UNIVERSAL, 11/18).
