“The order came from above.” The defunding of the 48th edition of the Book Fair opened a new chapter in the conflict between Javier Milei and the culture sector. For the first time in history, the national government did not send any official to the opening of the renowned international event and claimed that it will not have an official stand either because its cost is “exorbitant.” From the Fair, they responded that the Executive’s version is a “blatant lie” and they told the President that in the coming days he will use the meeting as a “showcase” to present his latest book. In addition, they warned him that they will not be responsible for the security expenses involved in his visit. Spokesman Manuel Adorni, however, confirmed the presence of the president and assured that the Military House will be in charge of the special operation. For that particular event, there will be money.
The Casa Rosada’s argument, as always, is fiscal. According to Government numbers, the installation of the classic stand of the Ministry of Culture at the Fair had a cost of 300 million pesos, added to another 150 million that its assembly would require. “It is an exorbitant amount,” Adorni argued to explain the absence and completed: “It was due to a matter of efficiencies, reducing an unreasonable amount for this moment in the country. “It does not merit further justification.” To mitigate the cut, he promised that these resources will be reallocated to popular libraries.
“It is nothing more than a blatant lie,” replied the president of the El Libro Foundation, Alejandro Vaccaro, regarding the aforementioned figures. “I don’t want to talk about numbers, because in a country with so many shortcomings, talking about millions sounds obscene. But it was an abysmally different figure,” he added. Thus, Vaccaro stressed that the attitude that the Executive is taking has no precedent in history and that the President “despises” the event, although he will use it to present a text of his authorship. “After despising our fair, he does not blush and asks to participate in this space,” he said and warned that they will not pay the extra expenses that his visit requires.
“Its presence at the Fair, an extraordinary showcase, implies a series of extraordinary expenditures, which the 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,” she expressed.
Milei’s show
One day before the fair ends, on Sunday, May 12, the head of state will present his new book, “Capitalism, socialism and the neoclassical trap.” It will be in the afternoon, outdoors, on the central arena of La Rural, where horses and bulls usually parade. “The idea is to do it in the largest area that the property has within the technical possibilities. It has twice the capacity of the largest room,” the spokesperson explained. The plan of the Secretary General of the Presidency is for around 6 thousand people to witness the launch of the text from the Planeta publishing house. Accompanying Milei will be Congressman José Luis Espert.
Regarding the security of the president, Adorni reported that the operation will be the responsibility of Casa Militar and that the Foundation will not have to make any special expenditure. “It would never have occurred to anyone that the Book Fair would take over. It is considered to be the place that meets what one expects in terms of attendance,” he said.
In this way, Milei will use the meeting to promote her book, but she will not do so in the space where the rest of the activities take place. “We never occupied that place. The publisher and the Presidency said that they wanted to make the presentation there. The event is organized by them,” clarified Ezequiel Martínez, director of the El Libro Foundation.
The text, which will go on sale next Monday, April 29, costs almost 27 thousand pesos. There are 376 pages where it is intended to combine economic theory with analysis of political management. “The problem for the West is that we must not only confront those who, despite overwhelming empirical evidence, continue to fight for impoverishing socialism, but also leaders, thinkers and academics who, protected by a wrong theoretical framework, undermine the foundations of socialism. system that has given us the greatest expansion of wealth and prosperity in history,” reads the book’s synopsis, quoting Milei.
Turning your back on culture
At the inauguration of the 48th edition, Vaccaro accused Milei of carrying out a “merciless attack against culture” and stated that the fair “is hacked, crossed, by the attempted defunding.” Despite the disagreements, he stressed that “he is not bothered” by the launch of the presidential book and that the “success” of the Fair is that “all voices” are represented. He even recalled that the libertarian attended the last two editions. “As he turned his back on Congress, today he turns his back on culture. It does so within the framework of the most important cultural event in Latin America,” she concluded.
