The Bolivian Olympic Committee does not have the support of the current and previous governments to lay the foundations for a strategic development over time and be able, someday, to cross borders to compete and not just participate as a guest at the party without being a protagonist. In the heights of Cochabamba, we met the president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, Marco Arze, to know how is the sport-state relationship in Bolivia and to deepen on the problems they have by not having a basic structure to develop the sport.

This is SportsIn’s hand in hand with the leader who had his origins in basketball and who assumed in property in May 2015 his first four-year administration, having subsequently two reelections (2019-2023 and 2023-2027) that catapult him to a governance of almost 9 years at the head of the BOC.

What is your balance since you took office in 2015 to date?

The balance in the first period was to put the house in order, attend and see the state of the national sports federations. Laying the foundations of an open-door work with leaders, athletes, coaches…. In short, to be able to detect the most urgent problems and help them with the few resources we have.

Then we set ourselves the goal -in the second Olympic cycle- to regularize the sports that were not federated in the Olympic Committee. When we arrived there were only 23 federations duly registered and with all their documentation and, from that moment on, we added 12 more federations and increased the universe to 35. There is still a long way to go, but I insist, we have been able to increase the number of federations and put us on a par with other more developed countries.

Marco Arze, president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, at an event.

And in this third period that we are exercising we have as a strategy to enter to compete in some sports at the South American and Parapan American Games, the last experience dates from the Games in Santiago 2023, we finished in 17th place, unthinkable for a country that has so many limitations and economic shortages and sports realities, but the silent work in some sports like racquetball and athletics in long-distance events…. We already have international recognition.

We recently organized the Bolivarian Youth Games in Sucre and, to tell the truth, it exceeded all expectations, both organizational and sporting, we gathered more than 2,000 athletes from 7 countries, including Colombia, Venezuela and Chile. Having this type of competitions in this age group gives us hope for a better future and gives us hope to continue at the head of the BOC.

President, Bolivia is a country that has many riches and, to tell the truth, it is surprising that the current governments are not committed to high-performance sports. Why are you so lax in not supporting sports in general?

Historically, central government support for federated sport has always been very limited in our country. The parenthesis was marked by the administration of President Evo Morales in sports infrastructure, in generating sports venues of the highest level, being recognized by the leaders of ODESUR and Panam Sports itself. Bolivia was positioned as a country that can do things well when everyone is aligned for the same goal, but the games ended and that legacy that could open the way to show the path of a long-term plan sadly remained there, without developing it permanently for the preparation of athletes, coaches and interdisciplinary team or staff. We are a poor country, in terms of sports, compared to the powers of South America.

The only professional sport in Bolivia is soccer. Currently basketball is in a process of development and all the others are amateur and, incidentally, there is no investment of resources by the Government for the effective development of national federations, since the More party is in government 16 years ago, there has been no relationship between the Ministry or Vice Ministry of Sport with our institutions. In short, the relationship is broken and we assume that it is a political strategy not to provide economic resources from the central government. Moreover, there is no direct attention or communication with high performance and, as long as this does not happen, it is unthinkable to move forward in the right direction.

We are going to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, what is the projection of athletes to attend the five-ring event?

Our selection for the Olympic Games in Paris is very limited: 4 athletes at the moment. We have one athlete qualified for the marathon by his own mark, there will be one more athlete in athletics and two in swimming. Hopefully, we will have some alternative to figure. Regarding the same, Hector Garibay, marathon runner and specialist in long-distance events, has the best chances of standing out, we hope he can improve his record and be as high as possible. It is not crazy to project him among the first 10 places, he has a sports scholarship that helps him to mitigate his preparation costs inside and outside Bolivia. That is our reality, therefore, it is key to have the link with the State and the Government so that we can have a sports policy that allows us to project in time and motivate more young people to join the formative sport and then many will reach the elite of the sport.

What legacy do you hope to leave when your term as head of the Bolivian Olympic Committee comes to an end?

Well, the legacy has different readings, not only in infrastructure, there is also the legacy of the athletes who will represent us in the near future, to be able through sport to take care of the environment, to make it more friendly….

One of my main objectives is to raise awareness so that we can develop a sports law that allows us to go in search of economic resources to fully fund the preparation, concentration and participation in national and international competitions of athletes and those who are a fundamental part of Bolivian sport. We want a fair budget that allows us to be on equal terms with most of the athletes of the continent, because they have always prepared with their own resources and dedicate insufficient hours compared to other countries that have better conditions and that results in obtaining good results. To achieve the Sports Law is our great objective and we are not going to rest to achieve it in this 2023-2027 cycle.

I would like to take this to a personal level, how do you relate to sports?

Sport has been part of my life. Since I was 16 years old, I have been involved in sports until now, when I am 62 years old. It is in our DNA, that is to say, it is already part of my life, but I don’t know what I will do when we leave sports. Everything indicates that I will continue working and supporting from the scope in which we can, so that the accumulated experience can be useful to Bolivian sport.

The family is always a fundamental pillar to support you in difficult moments. What does your closest environment say and if you have any athlete son or daughter?

The family is the central axis. We, sports leaders, dedicate a lot of time to this activity and that means neglecting the family issue, the business issue and other areas because we have to travel, we have to be attending the various demands, every day we are involved in an issue. Evidently, this bothers the family because they are neglected or not adequately attended, even more, when they mistreat you publicly or, simply, we sacrifice the children’s time. They criticize the actions of the leader-father, because of course there is a stage when you are not with them and they accuse the sport as the element that distracts or takes up a lot of the father’s time, so that shows discomfort, but, on the other hand, they know that it is also part of my life and they respect my life as a leader.

Do you have any dream or message for your country in sports?

I have several dreams: to get our first Olympic medal, assuming that in South America Bolivia is the only country that does not have an Olympic medal. Every time the records and the classification and participation systems are more complicated, but that is the number one dream, we are Olympians and we want to have our first Olympic medal.

And there are several other dreams: to have a consolidated sports system with the support of the Government, of the State as a whole, not only at the national level, but also at the departmental level through the governors’ offices and the municipalities at the local level throughout the country. I hope that part of these dreams become a reality in the coming years, because Bolivia, its athletes and its people deserve a better quality of life through sports.