You know what tyranny is, censorship and voting bans. Gioconda Belli (Managua, 74 years old) had to leave Nicaragua, persecuted by the Daniel Ortega regime. The poet and novelist has developed a radar for detecting any form of authoritarianism and knows that voting in a free country is a right that can sicken democracy if not exercised. She will enjoy being a Spanish citizen in the next elections after poetically scrutinizing the candidates.
Questions. For you who have been stripped of your homeland and your nationality and banished into exile. Do you know how to spot politicians in Spain who can do the same?
Answer. Those who advocate disqualification and demonize their rivals, those who refuse dialogue and censorship, those who want to enforce moral standards by denigrating those who disagree, those who deny dignity and incite hatred, them all capable of using power to undermine the democracy that has cost Spain so much. You scare me.
Q If you were governor, would you rule in verse?
R I would like to use Thiago de Mello’s poem “The Statutes of Man” as a philosophy. Article 7 says, “By irrevocable decree shall the enduring dominion of justice and clarity be established.” And joy shall be a bountiful banner hoisted forever in the souls of men.
Q Is Spain the country of women, as the title of your book says? If yes, what is left or missing?
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R There is a lack of a woman president, of maternity courses for boys and girls in the schools that prepare them to be fathers and mothers, a responsibility that nobody tells us about, violence against women must be eradicated, men must learn a masculinity that that is leaves flourish true equality.
Q “Despite the choked back tears, we are full of joy in building the new,” they write. What to do with the old one?
R. The old remains in the memory; It is experience that teaches what should not be repeated. There is much good in the old and it is necessary to use it.
Q “No one can predict the past,” he says in his poem Abandoned… Well, the future…
R We often allow the future we fear to take shape before us. We deny it, we close our eyes. The past changes depending on who tells it, it changes all the time, especially the recent past.
Q Is Pedro Sánchez a hendecasybe?
R. I answer with Lope de Vega… “Not to be found outside of the good center and to rest / Be happy, sad, humble, haughty / Angry, brave, fleeting / Content, offended, suspicious…”
Q What if Feijóo was a sonnet?
R This one by Garcilaso made me reflect on Feijoó’s relationship with Vox: “Like the tender mother that the grieving / son tearfully asks her / for something to eat / knows that the pain he feels must be doubled .. .” .
Q Do you see Yolanda Díaz as free verse as Montero in the previous government?
R. No, Yolanda Díaz is like Pastora Marcela in Don Quixote. He knows what he wants and doesn’t give in
Q Vox and the Abascales have already started censoring the bag, sounds familiar?
R To me it sounds about as loud as fire alarms. Censorship denies the wisdom of others and takes control of thought. It’s undemocratic.
Q If you come from a country where you don’t vote, what would you say to a non-voter?
R When choice is lost, tyranny begins; If you are allowed to vote and not, democracy becomes ill. Today’s democracies need oxygen; The voices are the urgent oxygen. I believe that voting in these elections is crucial.
Q If you were Prime Minister, how would you combine the sensuality of your work with protocol?
R I would give it a riddle rhythm and an Arabian Nights vibe.
Q Dear Mona Lisa, do you think that Mona Lisa’s look warns us of something?
R The Mona Lisa is the Gioconda, which comes from the Italian word giocare for “to play”… In short, I think she is warning Spain to take the now seriously so that she can smile later.
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