Urtasun Supports García Montero's 'Magnificent Work' and Avoids Controversy with the RAE

"I won't give you any fodder. I'm sorry," said the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, dismissively, as he tried to avoid the controversy involving the Instituto Cervantes and the Royal Spanish Academy, which is overshadowing the 10th Congress of the Spanish Language in Arequipa. He deflected questions and remained non-committal, although he praised the "magnificent work" of Luis García Montero at the helm of the Cervantes without commenting on Santiago Muñoz Machado's role at the RAE.

When asked about the confrontation and criticism regarding Arturo Pérez-Reverte's attempt to instrumentalise the RAE, he replied, "I won't engage in such controversies. The 10th CILE is a success, and that's what matters, working to ensure the progress and strengthening of the Spanish language," he sidestepped the question at the Mario Vargas Llosa Library in Arequipa. The writer and academic, creator of 'Captain Alatriste', called the director of the Cervantes "mediocre and a lackey" and accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of trying to "colonise" the RAE.

"The Ministry of Culture is fully committed through the magnificent work carried out by Luis García Montero," he added regarding the Cervantes' efforts. "We are very satisfied with how it operates," he insisted about the public institution under the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

And regarding Muñoz Machado's work at the RAE? "I know it's the controversy of the day and that you want to see if I'll comment, but I'm here, above all, to give the congress as much relevance as possible," he said evasively.

Should there be a call for concord as the King did? "It must be done to continue defending Spanish worldwide, and you won't find me in controversies, but working. I am aware of the controversy before the Congress, but I will not answer more questions about this," he concluded.

Nevertheless, he thanked both the Cervantes and the RAE for all their efforts in bringing forth "a congress that comes at a time of significant strength for Spanish, the second most spoken native language in the world, and the third most used language on the Internet."

Urtasun, who participated in a meeting with the publishing sector in Peru this Thursday, assured that he is following "very closely" the progression of Spanish in the United States. "With 60 million Spanish speakers, it is a trend that, whether the Trump administration likes it or not, is unstoppable," he noted. "We haven't liked the recent decisions to remove Spanish from official government communications," he lamented.

"Beyond what the Trump administration said, the increase in the presence of Spanish in the United States is unstoppable, and we, with the cultural policy of the Cervantes and the Ministry of Culture, will continue to support it," he concluded.