The political positioning against the government of Javier Milei was forceful on the La Rural property. “The book is culture, and in times when it is hacked, crossed by the attempt at financing, the Fair stands as a cultural beacon in the middle of the darkness,” said Alejandro Vaccaro, the president of the El Libro Foundation. (FEL) at the opening of the 48th Buenos Aires International Book Fair, whose main speaker was a lucid and extraordinary Liliana Heker. Applauded by editors, writers and exhibitors, Vaccaro questioned the “merciless attack on all cultural expressions” and stated that attending the Fair this year “represents an act of rebellion and resistance.”
“The memory of our Fair does not record that the National Government has been absent, without a stand, at this event,” stressed the president of the FEL and warned that the excuse that participation implied an expenditure of 300 million pesos “is not It is nothing more than a blatant lie.” He also confirmed that Banco Nación withdrew as a sponsor due to “an order that came from above.” Vaccaro criticized Milei, who will perform on Sunday, May 12 at the Pista Central de La Rural. “Her presence implies a series of extraordinary expenditures, which the El Libro Foundation cannot afford. I tell you with a hand on my heart: ‘There is no money.’ Therefore, everything related to your safety and that of the people who attend your event will be at your sole expense, or what is worse, it will be an extra expense for the National Treasury.”
The head of the City government, Jorge Macri – much booed and only celebrated by a handful of followers – made a memorable mistake when he mentioned that the Spanish Enrique Vila-Matas is “a Portuguese writer” along with José Saramago and Fernando Pessoa . Although he announced the incorporation of more than 20 thousand volumes in the City’s public libraries and the delivery of books to homes for people over 65 years of age or with reduced mobility, a woman shouted: “The kids don’t eat!”
Heker, teacher of several generations of writers, observed that “the book takes on a special significance at this time” and is “a fair representative of everything that is attacked today in the field of culture.” The author of cleavage zone recognized that there is a manifest intention of the government to undermine or suppress scientific development, artistic creation and university education. “The objective of this attack would be to reduce as much as possible the number of those who know how to read: to discourage the potential adversary,” the writer reflected and emphasized “the verbal irresponsibility so blatant that it seems more like a joke” of the presidential spokesperson (Manuel Adorni). ) when he clarified that “it was not true that a promised increase was going to be paid to retirees in two installments; No: I would simply do it at two different times.’” In the “small anthology of nonsense” the writer added Milei’s outbursts such as “The state is a criminal organization” or “Social justice is an aberrant concept.”
Applauded at several moments, she recalled the long line that formed at the Ministry of Human Capital to access a food ration; but no one attended to them. “Such cruelty is difficult to conceive, but it happened,” said Heker and the inventory of questions was swelled with the “surprise” of the Head of the Chamber of Deputies Martín Menem. “After the massive demonstration on March 24, he said with some alarm that he could not explain why eighteen-year-olds had attended that demonstration.” She then interpreted Menem’s phrase. “Something is undoubtedly wrong with the program: despite the government’s efforts, it has not been possible to achieve, so far, a new and complete generation of ignorant people,” he warned and then stressed that the policy of “ignorance for all” is not going to To get far”. Towards the end of the speech she showed “her optimistic streak” when he mentioned “the beginning of a path” in which one must be “wide awake and present” because “there is no turning back.”
The most important thing, according to the writer, is to find the ways to agree on what is essential: good nutrition, quality education, protected health, access to a dignified life, she listed in that order. “The life that is lost today cannot be recovered.” To conclude, she expressed that she hopes that in the very near future “our beloved Public University will be fully operational and with more and more students” and that there will be “many other Book Fairs throughout our country. “Every time with more attendance, every time with more creativity, every time with more readers.”
