Colombian writer Laura Restrepo announced she will not attend the Hay Festival in protest of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's presence, who received the Nobel Peace Prize. The decision has sparked divided reactions, with criticism aimed at Restrepo for upholding her convictions. Columnist Luis Ángel Muñoz Zúñiga praises her stance as impeccable and brave.
Colombian novelist Laura Restrepo has chosen to skip the Hay Festival in Cartagena, a major cultural event, to protest the participation of María Corina Machado. Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize nine years after Juan Manuel Santos received it for his peace dialogue efforts in Colombia.
In an opinion piece in Occidente, columnist Luis Ángel Muñoz Zúñiga notes that reactions to this award and Restrepo's protest are subjective. While some applaud Machado, they hurl epithets at Restrepo for her absence, scandalized that she prioritizes her convictions. Yet, Muñoz Zúñiga points out these critics stayed silent when a Colombian government barred writers from representing the country at an International Book Fair.
The writer argues it is unacceptable to leverage this episode to justify foreign interventions that undermine sovereignty, recalling that Santos's administration pursued peace through internal dialogues without seeking external aid at the expense of national independence. He stresses that internal issues should be addressed via democratic channels and legitimate international bodies, not requests for intervention.
Muñoz Zúñiga praises Restrepo as sensible and principled in her protest, contrasting her with other writers who stray from their literary principles for personal political gain. He quotes Chilean author Isabel Allende, who called Restrepo 'an impeccable writer and a valiant person.' The incident underscores tensions between personal convictions and cultural events amid regional politics.
