The Senate Plenary approved this Wednesday, with 144 votes in favor, 96 against and 18 abstentions, the motion presented by the Popular Parliamentary Group (GPP) in which the “interference” of the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, in the powers and autonomy of the RAE is condemned.
The motion has been defended by PP senator Juan Manuel Ávila, who has accused García Montero for “shamelessly and ruthlessly destroying” the Arequipa Congress in Peru and whom he has criticized for not resigning, something that he has also asked the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares.
“If Montero had shame he would have already resigned. Just as if Albares had a little dignity he would have already fired him,” he said.
The popular senator has insisted on his criticism against García Montero for accusing the director of the RAE, Santiago Múñoz Machado, of conducting business from his office, something that Montero himself does, in his opinion. “He has received more than twice as many awards since he has been director of the Cervantes than in 40 years as a writer,” he maintained.
“His statements, unfounded and alien to institutional rigor, represent an unjustifiable direct interference in the scope of the RAE itself, as well as a lack of respect for its autonomy, its academic authority and its international projection,” he stated.
From the PP, according to the senator, they do not consider that the profile of the director of the Cervantes responds to the level of cultural excellence and international prestige that the position demands and they point out that his projection has not achieved the relevance or universality that have historically characterized those responsible for an institution whose mission is to represent Spanish in the world.
“It contributes to the politicization of an institution that must be governed by principles of neutrality and demand. It was a matter of time before Sanchismo tried to liquidate the independence of the RAE. What happened does not represent an isolated event but a true trend. Yesterday it was the Royal Academy of History, but before that the Museum of Anthropology or the Museum of America,” he criticized.
SOCIALIST SUBSTITUTION AMENDMENT
For her part, the senator of the Socialist Group Rosa María Aldea has defended the “independence and commitment” of the institutions in the promotion of Spanish, underlining the “cooperation” between them as “authoritative” and “complementary.”
“The president (sic) of the Cervantes Institute, whom today you seek to discredit, has a long and always good career behind him,” he stated. The socialist senator has accused the Popular Party of “seeking polarization in society” and of “questioning all appointments that do not conform to their way of thinking”, speaking of “institutional politicization”.
For this reason, it has presented a replacement amendment that values the “independence and commitment” of both institutions, as well as defending and recognizing the work of both in promoting Spanish. “It is our obligation, the rest is noise. Continue with this drift,” he stated.
The ‘popular’ have rejected the amendment, understanding that it was not coherent and have criticized that the party has not condemned the words of García Montero, who is “dragging the institution.” “The institutions of our country cannot be politicized, much less the cultural ones, therefore their assessments lack absolute responsibility and of course we are not going to share them,” he stated.
For his part, Vox senator Fernando Carbonell has defended another amendment in which they asked to disapprove of Albares as “directly responsible for the terrible and disastrous direction of Spanish cultural diplomacy.” “Far from improving the image of Spain, it strives to denigrate it,” he noted.
However, the ‘popular’ have not accepted the amendment either because, according to Ávila, it was not the time to disapprove of Albares, who has “many other serious reasons for doing so in a monographic manner.”