Alberto Juantorena has been relieved from his position as Vice president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER by its acronym in Spanish). However, that’s not the shocking news, not even the end of the cycle as leader of the twice Olympic champion in Montreal 76 after 28 years in this position. The shocking news is that this information was released after more than four months; it took place exactly last December 17.
It was a journalist from the weekly journal Sierra Maestra who ran into Juantorena in a park in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba while doing some exercise and clarified the whole thing up and confirmed the widespread secret between speculations. “I was released from my position, it was a natural release, I was not born to lead for a lifetime”.
A lot has been said lately about Alberto and his dismissal as national leader, people unleash their imagination and as there is no one to confirm or refute rumors, we just get the categorical echo of the deathly silence from institutions, in this case INDER’s, and as a result hundreds of forced comments arise in the popular imaginary.
During the interview, vilified Juantorena pointed out “I aim for no position, I want nothing, in me they will simply have someone to turn to when they need it”.
Nowadays, he is at the head of the National Athletics Commission, as president. Regarding the rumors he expressed: “people has talked a lot, I know it, some say I went to jail, some say I’m corrupt, some say I got into a fight with someone else…, those are rumors, that’s part of the folklore of the Cuban people”.
The people blame him for his stand in the “Dayron Robles” case, a considerable part of sports fans don’t forgive him for his stubbornness in the intermediation of the reconciliation of that athlete with his nation. About that he noted: “It was him (Dayron) who wanted to leave, he put himself in that position…, people blame me but I had nothing to do with that. People should talk based on arguments, he asked to leave”.
