Why Arequipa will not be the world headquarters of the Congress of the Spanish Language in 2023

Published:

22 Dec 2022 15:54 GMT

The event will now be held in the city of Cádiz, in Spain.

Arequipa will no longer be the world headquarters of the Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) in 2023, due to the political and social crisis that Peru is going through, reported this Thursday the director of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), Santiago Muñoz Machado.

In a press conference held from Madrid, the director of the RAE specified that the event will now be moved to Cádiz, Spain, in view of the concerns expressed by the participants. “The security situation is not given“, asserted Muñoz Machado.

The decision was made after a meeting held yesterday between the 23 language academies, which agreed “unanimously” on the change of venue for the event. The proposal that Arequipa house the headquarters had been put on the table by the writer of Peruvian origin and Nobel Prize for Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa.

The Peruvian and Spanish authorities are aware of the resolution, which was ratified this Thursday at an emergency meeting of the RAE, in which the possibility of holding the Congress jointly between Cádiz and Arequipa was also ruled out.

“The Peruvian authorities, in agreement with the Spanish authorities and the 23 language academies, have made the decision not to continue with the Arequipa headquarters. There are uncontrollable riots, although the Peruvian government is trying to appease them. In addition to security, There are issues such as the agenda of the Kingswhich must be respected,” said Muñoz Machado, aforementioned by The Country.

The manager thus alluded to the situation in the Andean country, which has been in a serious upheaval since December 7, when then-President Pedro Castillo executed the failed attempt to dissolve Congress and was imprisoned hours later. Almost immediately, its vice president Dina Boluarte assumed power, after which massive protests broke out that have been repressed by the police and have left more than 20 deaths and dozens injured.

For now, what does remain is the date of the event and the planned program, which is launched with the motto ‘Spanish language, miscegenation and interculturality’. In principle, the appointment will take place between March 27 and 30, although the RAE does not rule out postponing the date a little longer, given that the change of venue has been announced just three months in advance.

Regarding financing, Muñoz Machado clarified that the Government of Spain had shown its “availability” to meet the expenses of Congress. “We have chosen Cádiz for many reasons, since it has mobilized its candidacy for a long time,” detailed the academic.

Despite the fact that the so-called ‘White City’ will not host next year’s event, another of the resolutions adopted is that the city is the headquarters of the tenth edition of Congress, scheduled for 2026.

The last-minute change was publicly announced by the mayor of Cádiz, José María González, who was pleased to receive the event, although he regretted that the reason why it will not take place in Arequipa is the instability in Peru.

“The wish, which I think is common to this entire corporation, is in advance for a solution to be reached as soon as possible to the political conflict that is taking place in the Andean country,” González pointed out in a brief intervention during the ordinary plenary session of the City Council .

If you liked it, share it with your friends!