President Garcia pushes Lima Pan Am Games bid in Guadalajara

By Jessica Barrios, special envoy

Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez has traveled to Mexico to make a personal pitch for Lima's bid to host the 2015 Pan Am Games.

The Peruvian leader flew to Guadalajara on Thursday to lobby voters of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) before a vote on Friday on where this major international multi-sport event should be hosted.

According to the scheduled program, President Garcia, on behalf of Lima, will make one final presentation to win the hearts and minds of the PASO members from 42 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Lima, which is competing against Bogota, Colombia, and Toronto, Canada, will be second to deliver its one-hour presentation at 10:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. Peruvian time).

President Garcia joined the Peruvian bid team which includes Lima Mayor Luis Castañeda and Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD) President Arturo Woodman, Finance Minister Luis Carranza and Tourism Minister Martin Perez among other government officials and renowned athletes.

A total of 52 ballots will be cast, since 10 of the 42 PASO countries who have previously hosted Pan Am Games are allotted two votes. A total of 27 are needed to win and a second ballot may be required to secure a majority support.

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Published: 11/6/2009