THE POLITICIZATION OF THE CERVANTES INSTITUTE - OF POETS AND BOOT LICKERS

 

Luis García Montero, a minor Spanish poet closely aligned with the ruling Socialist-Communist Party, was appointed Director of the Instituto Cervantes. Under his tenure, the institution has increasingly reflected political priorities rather than linguistic or cultural ones. Following the party’s unsuccessful attempts to influence the Real Academia Española, García Montero has lately criticized the Academy itself. Fortunately, distinguished writers such as Álvaro Pombo and Jesús García Calero have spoken out in its defense.

Founded in 1713, the Academy has unified the Spanish language across 24 countries, maintaining a single grammar and orthography through the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española. The RAE continues to do more for the cohesion and expansion of Spanish than the Cervantes Institute has since García Montero’s appointment. Let's keep ideologies away from cultural institutions.