Luis Ayllón
The diplomat Enrique Ojeda, Spain’s current ambassador to Chile, was appointed yesterday as the new director of Casa América, to fill the vacancy left at the end of November last year by the resignation of Antonio Pérez-Hernández.
The decision was taken at the meeting of Casa América’s Governing Council, which includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council.
This brings to an end a deadlock that has lasted more than eight months, due to the refusal of the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, to accept the candidacy of the then Socialist regional deputy in Madrid, Borja Cabezón, presented by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya. The Community and the City Council did not look favourably on Cabezón’s proposal, arguing that he had little experience in Latin American affairs.
The arrival of José Manuel Albares at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has broken the deadlock, after proposing for the post a diplomat with a long career in Ibero-America, Enrique Ojeda, currently ambassador to Chile and former ambassador to Bolivia and El Salvador, and who has also been posted to Bolivia and Guatemala on other occasions.
With a career spanning 27 years, Ojeda also has extensive experience in cultural management and for five years directed the Fundación Tres Culturas, one of the main institutions dedicated to intercultural dialogue in Spain.
Albares’ proposal was accepted by the Community and the City Council, something that the minister underlined, saying: “Today we have given a good example of collaboration between administrations in a shared priority such as Ibero-America. I think this is the best way to move forward”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that “the decision is part of the spirit of institutional collaboration between the Spanish Government, the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council, which was reflected on 25 July with the successful candidacy of the Prado-Recoletos axis for UNESCO World Heritage status”.
It also emphasises that the appointment of a new director of Casa América is in line with the strengthening of Spain’s Ibero-American policy, following the creation of a Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World.
