Writers Denounce Government Imposition in Dialogue on Poet's House

Writers and cultural collectives are denouncing a planned dialogue session by the Mexico City Secretariat of Culture, calling it inadmissible and an authoritarian imposition. The Committee for the Defense of the Casa del Poeta Ramón López Velarde issued a statement this morning, asserting that the meeting scheduled for tomorrow is unacceptable because it will be held behind closed doors with only a select few representatives from the eight collectives defending the venue.

This comes after the head of local Culture, Ana Francis Mor, proposed converting the space into a public cabaret. The committee argues that their positions have been public and well-known to authorities. They also expressed concern that the non-binding nature of the meeting means Secretary Ana Francis López Bayghen is not obligated to make public commitments, allowing for discretionary decisions and making the session a "simulation strategy."

The collectives question the agenda, which includes discussing the "vocation of the Casa del Poeta" and its programming. They insist these matters are already defined by the property's expropriation decree and the institutional parameters that governed the Casa del Poeta for over thirty years, establishing it exclusively as a space for poetry dedicated to Ramón López Velarde's memory and legacy.

The statement warns that the meeting's true purpose is to "denature" the space, calling it another form of authoritarian imposition. They emphasize that the Casa del Poeta is not a community center, cultural house, or interdisciplinary space, and any redefinition violating its nature would be illegitimate and illegal. The artistic and cultural community has already rejected this proposal.

Conversely, the local Secretariat of Culture released its own statement, announcing that the meeting aims to define the "new stage" for the Casa Ramón López Velarde. They confirmed invitations were extended to representatives of the eight collectives and stated that the press would be allowed to attend and the meeting would be broadcast live.