Nicaraguan Sergio Ramírez highlighted the importance of the EU as a democratic benchmark.

Nicaraguan writer and former vice president Sergio Ramírez called on Spain to take the initiative in the European Union to "preserve" democratic institutions. and maintain a “critical” attitude towards authoritarianism in Central America.

In his speech at the summer courses at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the winner of the 2017 Cervantes Prize urged the EU to strengthen its own model of democratic plurality and to take an interest, within the framework of the Association Agreement between Central America and the EU, in the tensions plaguing these countries.

For this reason, Ramírez (Masatepe, 1942) considers Spain a "natural bridge" of communication between Latin America and the EU, which should demand this task from Europe.

In this regard, in the face of the democratic "deterioration" experienced by the United States and the rise of authoritarian powers around the world, he defended the EU's position as a "crucial" reference point in Central America.

"I don't think a resolution from the European Union or the Spanish government will change the course of events, but a critical attitude is very important in order to establish the boundaries of tolerance that exist in the face of authoritarianism ," stressed the author of works such as Castigo divino (Divine Punishment) and Margarita, está linda la mar (Margarita, está linda la mar) .

On the other hand, aware of the conflicts and political tensions affecting European countries , such as the war in Ukraine, Ramírez insisted that Central America should not be "ignored" or "postponed."

The former vice president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990 reviewed two hundred years of Central American history during the Geopolitical Trends (VI) course, held at the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where he highlighted the impact of citizen security issues in the region, such as organized crime and drug trafficking.

Along these lines, he explained how citizens flee poverty and violence in their countries and arrive in the United States, where they encounter a "perverse" American dream that today "denies" immigrants "more than ever."

The writer described the “fragmented” face of Central America, difficult to appreciate as a whole because it is already “far from political integration,” but which, thanks to its sometimes contradictory identity, exists precisely for that reason: “It refuses to be won over by homogeneity.”

In this sense, the Cervantes Prize winner recognized the role of culture , the "best" face of Central America, which can teach, transform, and illuminate reality.