The complete speech of Alejandro VaccaroPresident of the El Libro Foundation, at the inauguration of the 48th Buenos Aires International Book Fair.
“Mr. Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires: Jorge Macri. Madam Minister of Culture of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires: Gabriela Ricardes. Mr. Ambassador of the sister Republic of Portugal Mr. José Ludovice Mr. Minister of Culture of the sister Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Dr. Pablo da Silveira. Dear members of the diplomatic corps accredited in our country, friendly ambassadors. Gentlemen members of the national, local and provincial legislative bodies. Dear members of the Board of Directors of the El Libro Foundation, officials, collaborators, Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the great festival of books, culture and democracy. Let’s look at these three words. THE BOOK: This great meeting that begins today is a living example of the importance of the book, the book unites us, educates us, strengthens us, challenges us. We are part of the book culture, we recognize writers almost as members of our family. But at the same time, it is no coincidence that politicians, former presidents and presidents write books and present them at this Fair. This speaks clearly of the strength of the book object and the strength of this Fair. CULTURE: The book is culture, and at times when it is hacked, crossed by the attempt to defund it, the Fair stands as a cultural beacon in the middle of the darkness.
DEMOCRACY: This space is confirmed as a democratic and plural support, where there is room for all voices and thoughts. This chapter of the Fair represents resistance, since we hold the 48th Buenos Aires International Book Fair in a highly complex framework. The true makers of this mega-event that is surpassed year after year – that is, the people, the readers who accompany us – observe with perplexity that the economic measures taken from the highest levels of the government drag them mercilessly to a distant world. , very far from the paradise that Borges imagined. The abrupt loss of purchasing power of broad swaths of the population, approximately 90%, the excessive increase in food and all those essential products, turn consumption in any of its forms into a luxury that very few can afford. . The book industry, which had been recovering with great difficulty, after the dark night of the last years of the last decade, and the pandemic, finds a brake that takes us back to gloomy figures. Nothing like the objectivity of the data: in 2015 the country produced 129 million books to fall to 26 million in 2018, in 2023 and after the pandemic the figures reached 48 million copies. This year the final figure is not described with numbers but with words: it will be very poor. A ruthless attack on all cultural expressions, without economic justification, but backed by an alarming ideological bias, does nothing other than put on guard the essential creators who make our lives more pleasant. Attending the Fair this year represents an act of rebellion and resistance. As never before, this plural, active space will be the central axis around which the repudiation of all cultural forces against the devastating policies proposed by this government will revolve. This framework includes, among other things, the act of redress for the historical cultural programs broadcast by Public Television, the closure of Telam, etc., which we will carry out on Saturday, April 27 at 8:30 p.m. in the spaces at open air of the Fair.
The measures that have been tried to be implemented are attacks on the heart of culture, which is why we express with all our strength and say: NO to the closure of the National Arts Fund NO to the closure of the National Theater Institute NO to the scrapping of the National Film Institute INCAA NO to the repeal of Law No. 25542 on the Defense of Book Activity NO to the refusal to purchase just over fourteen million school textbooks by the Ministry of Human Capital, which were going to be delivered to public schools, with the childish and smiling, if it were not tragic, I argue: “because there is no time.” I mention that the selection is made transparently by provincial evaluation commissions, preceded by a National evaluation commission. YES to the Free and Inclusive Public University. For more than five years we have been complaining about the modification of article 150 of the VAT law that, due to a drafting error that contradicts the spirit with which the legislators voted for it, deprives bookstores of recovering the tax credit that this tax grants. The memory of our Fair does not record that the National Government has been absent, without a stand, at this event. The excuse that the participation of the National State in the Fair implied an expenditure of 300 million pesos is nothing other than a blatant lie. After an arduous negotiation, in which we agreed to all their requirements, Banco Nación decided to withdraw, after many years, its sponsorship of the Fair, revealing that the order came “from above.” But this is not all, the President of the Nation, after despising our Fair, does not blush and asks to participate in this space, which is scheduled for next Sunday, May 12 at the Central Court of La Rural. His presence at the Fair, an extraordinary showcase, 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.
Returning to the cultural aspect, there will also be, as always, hundreds of cultural activities, conferences, talks, debates, round tables, visits from national and foreign writers, within the framework of the breadth and plurality that characterizes us. We especially thank our guest city of Honor, the thriving Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, mayor of this beautiful city that inspires us and fills us with a diverse and magnificent cultural proposal: from the stand that you can visit in the Yellow Pavilion, the exhibition of Pessoa in the Central Hall, the illustrations in the tunnel, the tram on the Sarmiento beach and a huge entourage of authors. Lisbon is, without a doubt, the City that has made the greatest display at the Fair. We also thank our sponsors: Grupo Clarín, Celulosa and Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, who accompany us in this critical year and who once again support the Fair. We appreciate that you continue to believe in us. Thank the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, which without hesitation continues to participate in the Fair in this difficult time, but with even more vigor, covering the space left vacant by the National State. Our enormous gratitude to Conabip, which maintains the Libro% Program, so important for our popular libraries and our exhibitors. And finally to the Members of the Council and the ad honorem Working Commissions and the professional team of the El Libro Foundation. In order to reduce the impact on the pockets of visitors to the Fair, with the entrance we give vouchers that are currency in the purchase of books, but we also give a checkbook of $ 4,000 to use in bookstores throughout the country once once this great event is over. But we do not stop thinking, unlike others, about retirees, children, students, they will be able to access the fair for free from Monday to Friday, with the exception of May 1 and people affected by any disabilities, teachers and cultural pass holders, who will be able to access the fair for free, every day. On Saturday, April 27, Night of the Fair, admission will be free after 8 p.m.
Within the framework of the 50 years of the first Fair, held in March 1975 and if it had not been for the disastrous pandemic and its ravages, we would be celebrating half a century today. Next year will be highlighted with this celebration and we will present the fifty-year book, on which we have been working with fervor. The creation of the Isay Klasse documentation center is part of this line, based on his personal archive and which his family has nobly donated to the El Libro Foundation. There will be tributes to great writers: an exhibition of photographs taken by Bioy Casares, virtual activities around Cortázar and also Quino. In this edition we are proud to present “The Indigenous Word. Dialogue with Native Writers. For the first time at the Fair, this meeting is held that seeks to focus on the literary production of our native voices. A well-deserved and belated recognition to the authors of our continent. We also incorporated the “End of Fair Debate”, which will take place on Sunday, May 12, where the diversity of opinions regarding culture in these turbulent times will be brought to the fore. The debate will include: Beatriz Sarlo, Martín Kohan, Hernán Lombardi and Lucas Llach. This city of books will have endless activities, many more than 1000, in our twelve rooms. In this aspect we must highlight that the Children’s Zone will be called “Javier Villafañe”, recovering a notable name from our letters in what we consider a new tribute, to the person who helped us understand and enjoy puppets, poetry, and friendship. , in summary of the written word. The Fair is the place of diversity, of cultural debate, as we said, of the exchange of ideas that our main speaker so values: Liliana Heker, whom we will be able to enjoy in a few minutes. Many writers will be present, among ours there will be all the great voices: Leila Guerriero, Mariana Enríquez, Guillermo Martínez, Claudia Piñeiro, Luis Gusmán, María Teresa Andruetto, Darío Z, to name a few, but there are hundreds…From abroad: David Foenkinos , Mónica Ojeda, Luigi Zoja, Lídia Jorge, Diamela Eltit, Elvira Sastre, Sónsoles Onega, Francisco José Viegas and the list is immense. We will have the traditional Education Conferences, the Science and Technology Forum, the Book and Reading Promotion Congress, the International Oral Narration Meeting, and the now legendary Poetry Festivals, the Microfiction Day, the Reading Marathon (dedicated this year to Julio Cortázar), the Dialogue of Writers of Argentina and the Writers of Latin America; and the successful meeting of Bookfluencers. We will also present the traditional awards organized by the Book Foundation: the Isay Klasse for the Education book, the awards for professionals in the Sector, the Critics’ Award for the best book published in 2023, and the Literary Award for a volume of unpublished stories. whose jury is made up of Guadalupe Nettel, Betina González and Federico Jeanmaire in this sixth edition. More than 12,000 editors from 30 countries, booksellers, literary agents, librarians, analysts, authors, specialized journalists, and all those who from different topics make up the world of books gathered at the professional conferences that culminate today. In two days of work, 1,314 boxes containing 15,837 kilos were shipped. We warmly embrace the Conabip Librarians, who will populate the halls of the Fair with their carts full of books. In this regard, the El Libro Foundation, directly or through specialized third parties, will develop its usual logistics, so that the purchase process and arrival at its destination is simple and effective. Although it is not small, we work hard to improve ourselves Fair by Fair. In this direction, we continue with our Children’s Zone, Explora Zone, Future Zone, the Digital Space and the Pride and Prejudice Stand that emphasizes the aesthetic, literary, critical and political production of sexual dissidence groups, and with the Functional Diversity and Disability Space at the Federal Stand. With the joy that fills us with each new opening of the Book Fair, we welcome you and hope that you enjoy visiting it as much as we enjoy organizing it for you. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the International Book Fair.”
