The Casa de América suspended the film cycle programmed by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Spain for the days March 17, 18, and 24, according to the public consortium of which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a part. Although no further explanations were provided, the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the City Council of Madrid expressed their disagreement with the screening of the proposed films.
The regional government and the city council of the capital sent letters to the director of Casa de América, León de la Torre, with a 24-hour interval. The Community of Madrid specifically referred to two of the films, 'Operación Orión' and 'La batalla de los puentes', considering them an attempt to whitewash and glorify the Chavista regime, accusing it of violating human rights in Venezuela.
Two of the films highlighted the narrative of the Chavista dictatorship against the United States, triggering a negative reaction from both the regional government and the City Council of Madrid. The mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, urged Casa de América not to become a means of promoting authoritarianism, reminding them that glorifying dictatorships goes against their foundational purposes.
Inmaculada Sanz, spokesperson for the municipal government, also demanded that the films not be screened, considering them a form of propaganda for the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. In a letter addressed to the institution, Sanz stated that promoting the values of democracy and freedom is the responsibility of Casa de América and that it should not serve as a platform for the dissemination of propagandistic films from dictatorial regimes.
Finally, Casa de América decided to suspend the cycle 'Cinema and Memory: The Voice of the People and the Struggle for Sovereignty,' scheduled for March 17, 18, and 24, which included the screening of films criticized for glorifying the Chavista regime. The pressures from the regional government, the City Council of Madrid, and the counselor of Culture, Tourism, and Sports, Mariano de Paco, led to this decision to suspend the screenings.
