The director of the Panamanian Academy of Language and former foreign minister, Jorge Eduardo Ritter, expressed this Friday his confidence that Panama will host the International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) in 2028, calling the controversy between the Cervantes Institute and the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) a «setback».
«I don't know if there has been any miscommunication, but the truth is that Panama's intention has always been that this Congress, if held in Panama, be held as all others have, without any discord, with absolute harmony between the Association of Spanish Language Academies (Asale), the Royal Spanish Academy, the Government of Spain, the Government of Panama, and, of course, the Cervantes Institute,» he added.
Panama «is already working» on the organization of the CILE, as it is an event that requires a lot of work and coordination, «and I sincerely hope and would love for that to be the case, that there would not be this discord that seems to exist between the Cervantes Institute and Asale,» Ritter explained.
He explained that Panama submitted its candidacy at the Congress in Arequipa, held in Peru last October, «as has traditionally been done,» and it was approved unanimously in a private meeting by the 23 Spanish-language academies grouped in Asale, in which no other candidacy was presented.
The director of the Panamanian Academy and former chancellor also highlighted that the candidacy was presented «in advance» to Asale, with «notes from the Government of Panama addressed to both that Association and the Cervantes Institute».
«I am sure that this is a setback, if you will, but that it will be possible for Panama to carry it out,» Ritter affirmed, recalling that his country has experience in organizing this event because it already hosted the CILE in 2013.
The director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, accused the director of the RAE, Santiago Muñoz Machado, last Tuesday of trying to unilaterally impose Panama as the host of the 2028 CILE, arguing, among other reasons, that it corresponds to the institution he leads «to propose to the language academies a venue».
«Especially because Asale spoke unanimously in favor of Panama's candidacy,» Ritter stated.
The CILEs are held every three years and are jointly organized by the Cervantes Institute, the RAE, and the association of academies Asale in collaboration with the host country.
