Overview

• Luis García Montero made the criticism at a Nueva Economía Fórum event, saying the RAE is in the hands of an expert in doing business from his office for multimillion‑euro companies.
• The RAE plenary, meeting in Madrid with some academics connected from Lima, issued a unanimous communiqué expressing its absolute repulsa and calling the statements an aggression against its director.
• The academy defended Santiago Muñoz Machado, noting he has been democratically elected twice and highlighting his record as a leading jurist, essayist and historian.
• The clash comes days before the X Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española in Arequipa from Oct. 14–17, co-organized by the RAE, Instituto Cervantes and ASALE, and scheduled to be inaugurated by King Felipe VI and to honor Mario Vargas Llosa.
• Organizers say the RAE prepared the academic program and will lead themes on mestizaje and interculturality, clear and accessible language, and artificial intelligence, while García Montero also pressed for recognition of Spain’s linguistic diversity and institutional independence; no retraction or resolution has been reported.