The Cervantes Institute denounces the RAE’s “unilateral” decision to choose Panama for the next Congress of the Spanish Language

Eduardo González The Cervantes Institute has denounced the "unilateral" decision by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) to choose Panama as the venue for the next International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE), arguing that it "violates" the basic guidelines for organizing these events. "The designation of the venues for the International Congresses of the Spanish Language (CILE) is agreed upon between the Cervantes Institute and the RAE after an evaluation of the candidacies submitted to both institutions and the Government of Spain," the Cervantes Institute stated in a press release on Wednesday. "The designation of the venues for the International Congresses of the Spanish Language (CILE) is agreed upon by the Cervantes Institute and the RAE after an evaluation of the candidacies submitted to both institutions and the Government of Spain," the Cervantes Institute declared in a statement. Point 5 of the Basic Guidelines for the Organization of the Congresses of the Spanish Language, signed in May 2014, states that “countries aspiring to host an International Congress of the Spanish Language must officially formalize their candidacy through an official communication from their government to the Government of Spain and the organizing institutions,” specifically the Cervantes Institute and the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) (in its capacity as president of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, ASALE), “which will decide according to the circumstances at the time.” “The unilateral selection of Panama without the prior knowledge of the Cervantes Institute undermines the good relationship between institutions that has been the general rule for these congresses, founded by the Cervantes Institute in 1997, and to which the RAE and ASALE joined in 2001,” the Institute lamented. “The Cervantes Institute regrets that the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), taking advantage of its ex officio presidency of the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE), is using Latin American academies to damage institutional and cultural relations with Panama,” stated the institution headed by Luis García Montero. “Furthermore, given the RAE’s failure to comply with the obligations and commitments it has made to the Cervantes Institute, it demands that the RAE rectify its actions and return to the responsible path of mutual collaboration,” it concluded. The International Congresses of the Spanish Language (CILE) have been held triennially since 1997 and are organized by the Cervantes Institute, the RAE, and ASALE, together with the host country. Previous CILEs were held in Zacatecas (Mexico, 1997), Valladolid (Spain, 2001), Rosario (Argentina, 2004), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia, 2007), Valparaiso (Chile, 2010, held online due to an earthquake), Panama (Panama, 2013), San Juan (Puerto Rico, 2016), Cordoba (Argentina, 2019), Cadiz (Spain, 2023) and Arequipa (Peru, 2025).

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