Culture on a war footing: Buenos Aires Book Fair inaugurated

Buenos Aires. Presented as a “cultural beacon in the middle of the darkness,” the Buenos Aires international book fair was inaugurated on Thursday with harsh criticism of the austerity policies of Argentine President Javier Milei that affect the different expressions of culture.

“Attending the fair this year represents an act of rebellion and resistance,” said Alejandro Vaccaro, president of Fundación El Libro, at the opening ceremony of the 48th edition of the literary event on the premises of the Sociedad Rural de the capital.

“Like 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,” remarked the writer and collector.

As has happened in the different areas of the State, culture has not been exempt from the strong spending cuts carried out by the far-right president since he took office four months ago with the aim of reducing the fiscal deficit.

Milei moved forward with the closure of the National Fund for the Arts and the National Theater Institute; She reduced amounts destined for the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) and the National Institute of Music, among others, under the excuse that “there is no money” and that all sectors must adjust.

The president also criticized several popular artists through social networks and accused them of using public funds to enrich themselves.

“The economic measures taken from the highest levels of the government drag us mercilessly to a distant, very distant world, to the paradise that (writer Jorge Luis) Borges imagined,” said Vaccaro, who announced that this year the production of books will be “very poor.”

As a symbol of a time of austerity, the Ministry of Culture for the first time will not have a stand. The official in charge, Leonardo Cifelli, did not attend the opening ceremony, but toured the fair hours before.

Milei, however, will present her book on May 12 Capitalism, socialism and the neoclassical trap. From economic theory to political action. It will not be in one of the usual halls of the fair but in the outdoor exhibition arena of the Rural Society, something unprecedented.

“The president of the Nation, after despising our fair, does not blush and asks to participate,” said Vaccaro, followed by a boo from those present at the opening ceremony. “His participation in the fair implies a series of extraordinary expenses that the Book Foundation cannot afford. Mr. President, I tell you with a hand on my heart: ‘there is no money,’” in reference to the ultra-liberal economist’s favorite phrase.

He added that “everything related to their security will be at their sole expense or, what will be worse, it will be an extra expense for the National Treasury.”

Lisbon will be the guest city of honor in this edition, which will have as notable events the celebration of the 60th anniversary of “Mafalda”, the comic strip character by cartoonist Quino, and the 110th anniversary of the birth of the writer Julio Cortázar.