This Wednesday, King Felipe VI expressed his surprise at the decision of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to remove Spanish as a language of communication in the White House. The King mentioned that this measure is likely temporary, as he believes that Spanish will continue to gain importance, becoming the second most used language with political influence.
Felipe VI's statements took place during the annual meeting of the Board of the Cervantes Institute, held at the Royal Palace of El Pardo, where the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, was also present. In this context, the King highlighted the importance of disseminating culture through the teaching of Spanish, emphasizing the more than 7,800 activities carried out by the Cervantes Institute in 2024 that involved nearly 5,000 creators.
For his part, the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, criticized Trump's position, considering that by relating Spanish to a language 'of the poor and migrants', he has disregarded the 60 million Spanish speakers in the United States. Moreover, García Montero expressed his disappointment in not seeing a change in attitude from the U.S. president, despite the support from the Latino population and its relevance in the country's economy.
During the Board meeting, details of the 2023-2024 course were discussed, and the importance of the Spanish-speaking community in the world, which exceeds 600 million people, was emphasized. The King stressed that the linguistic community includes not only Spanish-speaking American countries but also Spanish speakers from around the world.
Additionally, the role of the Cervantes Institute was highlighted as a space for meeting and fraternity for all Spanish speakers. In the case of the U.S., where the Institute has five centers, it was noted that Spanish has a significant presence in secondary and university education, and it is projected that by 2050 the country will reach nearly 100 million Spanish speakers, which offers hope that the decision to remove Spanish as a language of communication in the White House is only temporary.
