Raymundo González’s re-election as head of taekwondo is prevented

Mexico’s status as a world power in taekwondo has vanished in two Olympic cycles, a period that coincides with the administration of Raymundo González at the head of the Mexican Federation of the discipline (FMTKD) and who yesterday tried to re-elect himself as head of the organization in an illegal assembly. However, he was prevented from doing so by the intervention of the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (Conade) and the Council of Sports Electoral Surveillance (Coved).

As a result of various complaints filed with Coved by members of the Mexican Taekwondo Federation, AC, the council, in accordance with its legal and regulatory powers, decided to grant the promoters the precautionary measure and suspend the assembly, ordering that things remain as they are, until the corresponding procedures are completed.Conade said in a statement.

The decision of Coved and Conade was key to invalidating the assembly that González called in Villahermosa, Tabasco, to approve a vote that would allow him to lead the FMTKD for a third consecutive term, now from 2024 to 2028.

The FMTKD was expected to issue a statement outlining its position, but as of press time, no message had been received.

The entire community in this discipline has said it, it has not been an administration that has planned anything important that would be reflected in the results. Hopefully González will reflect and hand over the baton.pointed out The Day Coach José Luis Onofre, who led María del Rosario Espinoza and Guillermo Pérez to win gold in Beijing 2008.

Espinoza, who won three Olympic medals (2008, 2012 and 2016), as well as medalists Víctor Estrada, Guillermo Pérez and the Salazar brothers Óscar and Iridia, have positioned Mexico as an international benchmark for taekwondo.

However, efforts to give the country elite status have been on the decline since Raymundo González took over the presidency of the Mexican Taekwondo Federation in 2016. Under his leadership, the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 cycles were marked by the absence of Olympic medals.

The most controversial case was that of Carlos Sansores, who arrived as world runner-up in Paris 2024, but lost in the fight for the bronze medal, in a fight where he lacked energy. Meanwhile, Daniela Souza, who was also world champion in 2022, was eliminated early for committing infractions. The Federation’s reaction was to fire the coaches.

Spending $175 million

Conade, headed by Ana Guevara, showed a close relationship with González, to the point of intervening so that the 2022 Taekwondo World Cup would be held in Mexico.

Guevara herself acknowledged that in this Olympic cycle she gave the FMTKD a budget of 175 million pesos. After Paris 2024, she pointed out that It will be the president of the Federation who must be held accountable.

The sporting results have not been the only questioning of González, as the biggest mistake was violating the organization’s statutes.

González was supposed to call an assembly to elect the new president of the Federation at the end of 2023, but he did not do so. He remained at the head of the organization and in July he held an illegal assembly in which he was re-elected.

In response to the claims and appeals filed by leading figures in this discipline in the country, such as Óscar Salazar and former taekwondo athletes Ricardo del Real, as well as Liliana Aguirre, Coved and Conade were forced to respond and invalidate the new assembly that Aguirre called yesterday to confirm his re-election.

The previous assembly was invalid, so they called this new one. The Coved had to be present to give it validity.Onofre explained.

We must see the possibility of a change for the good of taekwondo, so that our competitors can have good results. It is really sad and angry to see all this. As long as we are passionate, the work will continue in this discipline, but in itself, we want Mexican taekwondo to transcend.he noted.