President Hipólito Mejía appointed new members to the Organizing Committee of the Pan American Games. The committee thus was expanded from 21 members to 33 members. The new members are: Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, Minister of the Armed Forces Jose Miguel Soto Jiménez, Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas Maldonado, Minister of Sports Cesar Cedeño, Minister of Youth Tony Peña Guaba, Minister of Health José Rodríguez Soldevilla. Presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, respectively, Ramón Alburquerque and Rafaela Alburquerque. Also businessmen Rafael Perelló, Tony Rivera and Eduardo Estrella. And sports leaders Bienvenido Solano and Danilo Aquino. Former Minister of Public Works Diandino Peña was confirmed as the Games’ executive vice president. Upon making the announcement, President Hipólito Mejía said: "In this type of event there are always people who have no faith in this or in anything, but to those pessimists, deaf ears to dumb words. We are going to do the job and I hope to help you do a good job. The challenges ahead are difficult, but to big difficulties big solutions, big problems big solutions." The July 2003 Santo Domingo Pan Am Games have met with much local opposition. Most of the opposition has been spurred by the lack of information coming from the organizers. Likewise, opponents point to the unfortunate tradition of sports in the DR. Historically, the development of sports has only benefited the builders of large sports complexes that later are abandoned. Sports in the DR is at an all time low, which promoters of the Games say would be reversed with the celebration of the Pan Am Games.
