Open war between the Cervantes Institute and the RAE, on the eve of the world congress of the language
Open war between the Cervantes Institute and the RAE, on the eve of the world congress of the language
There is deep annoyance over accusations made by Luis García Montero against the director of the Royal Academy.
Armando G. Tejeda
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, October 10, 2025, p. 5
Madrid. The two main institutions in Spain for the defense and promotion of the language are the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and the Cervantes Institute. Just one week before the start of the International Congress on the Language (CILE) in Arequipa, Peru, they have entered into an open and public war, with harsh criticism of each other.
The origin of the confrontation was statements by the director of the Cervantes Institute, the Granada-born poet Luis García Montero, who has held the position since 2018, after being appointed by the current government of Socialist Pedro Sánchez. At a breakfast press conference in Madrid, the writer accused the current president of the RAE, Santiago Muñoz Machado, of being "an expert in conducting business for multi-million-dollar companies." He lamented that the RAE "is in the hands of a professor of administrative law who is an expert in conducting business from his office for multi-million-dollar companies, and that, personally, also creates distances. We have to collaborate, and we try to collaborate; for that, we must respect independence. No one has the right to be at the center and tell others how to speak, but rather to maintain unity within the respect for each person's ability to speak Spanish."
Regarding the rift between the two institutions, he added that it had gone unnoticed until now: “I have to admit that, as a philologist, I was used to talking with Fernando Lázaro Carreter, with Víctor García de la Concha, with Darío Villanueva… great philologists and great men of culture.”
The Royal Academy's response came hours later—partly because some of its members are already in Peru—through a statement warning that the RAE "is deliberating on the statements made this morning by the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, to the media. The secretary general of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language is also present. The plenary session unanimously agreed to express its absolute condemnation of Mr. García Montero's incomprehensible statements, completely unfortunate and inappropriate on the eve of the start of the CILE."
They add that "this is a fundamental occasion for Spanish culture and language, bringing together representatives from all Spanish-speaking nations, which the director of the Cervantes Institute has clouded with his statements."
They maintain that "the director of the Royal Spanish Academy has been democratically elected twice by the institution's full body, and is not only an expert jurist, but also one of the most renowned essayists and historians in our country, with awards such as the National Essay and History Prizes, in addition to countless accolades from Spanish and foreign academies and universities.
“The attack on its director and president, who has done extraordinary work in the seven years he has led both institutions, offends the RAE and the Association of Language Academies.”
They conclude with a veiled criticism of the Cervantes Institute: "The qualitative differences between the meritorious work of the RAE and any other institution that deals with Spanish and its culture in the world are evident."
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