Spanish Language Dispute: Panama vs. Spain for CILE 2028 Hosting Rights

The director of the Royal Spanish Language Academy (RAE), Santiago Muñoz Machado, stated on Monday that the proposal to choose Panama as the venue for the next International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) has followed the 'usual procedure' in the face of accusations from the Cervantes Institute that it is an imposition. 'We proposed Panama's candidacy at the Arequipa Congress, which is how it has traditionally been done,' and it was approved in a private meeting by the 23 Spanish language academies grouped in Asale, in which no other candidacy was presented, explained Ritter. 'It is normal that it will end up being held in Panama,' said Muñoz Machado at the end of the presentation of new entries for the Dictionary of the Spanish Language in Madrid. Last week, García Montero accused Muñoz Machado of trying to unilaterally impose Panama as the venue for the 2028 CILE, arguing that it is up to the institution he directs 'to propose a venue to the language academies'. The director of the Panamanian Academy of Language, Jorge Eduardo Ritter, expressed last Friday to EFE his confidence that Panama will host the CILE in 2028, calling the controversy between the Cervantes Institute and the RAE a 'stumble'. 'What is missing is for the governments of Spain and Panama to agree,' he specified. Muñoz Machado also stated that he continues to believe that 'the Academy should have as its director a quality philologist and not a business lawyer'. Shortly before the Arequipa congress, the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, criticized that the RAE is not headed by a philologist, but by a professor of Administrative Law 'an expert in running businesses from offices for multinational companies', referring to Muñoz Machado.