Hay Festival Arequipa 2021 – Politics

Until recently, Francisco Sagasti held the position of President of Peru, acting as the country’s leader during a period of particular political and socioeconomic turbulence, made even worse by the pandemic. Apart from being President of the Republic he has been Chairman of Congress, Head of Strategic Planning at the World Bank, Chair of the UN’s Consultative Council of Science and Technology and a manager and board member of many other Peruvian and international organizations. An industrial engineer by training, Sagasti has taught at various universities in Peru and abroad, and is the author of over 20 books and a hundred academic articles. His most recent work is Imaginemos un Perú mejor… y hagámoslo realidad, a compilation of interviews and articles that analyse the structural problems of Peru and propose forms of political, social and cultural growth. Max Hernández, a doctor of medicine and a member of the International Psychoanalytical Association, is the author of Memoria del bien perdido, an incisive exploration and psychological portrait of one of the great figures of the early colonial period, the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. They will talk about their most recent works, and on the way impart some of their vast knowledge of Peruvian history and reality, giving their views on the past, present and future prospects of the country.

Can the story of a country be told through prominent figures? Is betrayal a constant in Peruvian politics? Alejandro Neyra (Peru), a writer, diplomat and expert on his country’s political tradition, is the author of Traiciones peruanas, 16 ilustres antihéroes de la historia nacional, a book that looks at the careers of Peruvian history’s major figures, whose actions and decisions impacted historical events, setting the course for the way the country developed. The event will also cover Mi monstruo sagrado, by the same author and winner of the 2019 Copé de Oro Novel Prize. In conversation with Vera Tyuleneva.

Focussing on the latest book by the French Minister of National Education, Sports and Youth, Jean-Michel Blanquer (École ouverte, Gallimard, Paris, 2021), this event will analyse, based on the work of the philosopher Edgar Morin on crisis and complexity, the lessons that can be drawn from the Covid-19 pandemic with regard to the institutional and pedagogical management of the school and educational system. The mandatory confinement of the population and post-lockdown difficulties have brought about an international debate between those in favour of the “open school”, that is to say, hybrid schooling with some presence at the school together with strict health protocols, and those in favour of the “closed school”, which is only virtual and avoids taking risks or dealing with uncertainty in a critical situation. A change of epistemological, socioeconomic and cultural paradigm is at stake. What is required is a questioning of teaching and education from both new and traditional viewpoints, since the pandemic has brought to light a serious systemic crisis. What we need is a rethinking of what is understood by the digital technological revolution, data mining, artificial intelligence, as well as a consideration of whether schooling is the most important thing for the development of a society, or whether it is an “adjustment variable” or an “ideological flag” that is in danger within our society. In conversation with Nelson Vallejo-Gomez.

Event in Spanish

Few regions of the world have undergone such political upheaval as Latin America in recent times. The continent has been the setting for numerous socio-political protests and movements, in which very different nations have experienced similar discontent and social agitation. It is possible that this is the result of the common colonial-historical background, which has resulted in most cases in very polarized societies, with high levels of poverty and inequality, which have only increased with the health emergency caused by the pandemic. The journalist and writer Martín Caparrós (Argentina), the journalist Moisés Naím (Venezuela), the historian Natalia Sobrevilla (Peru) and the journalist Michael Reid (United Kingdom) will talk to the journalist Jacqueline Fowks (Peru) with the goal of trying to understand and find common ground regarding the complexity of the social processes that are happening on our continent.

César Hildebrandt is considered to be Peru’s most influential journalist. Over the course of his career, he has featured in over ten television programmes, he is the author of five books and also edits the magazine Hildebrandt en sus trece, a weekly publication that disseminates confrontational, documented, secular journalism. In 2021 Hildebrandt published a memoir entitled Confesiones de un inquisidor, in which he recounts and reflects on his career and his private life, from his days as a secondary school pupil to the impact of his work on Peruvian public opinion, his analysis of politics, his relationship with television and the media, his experience as a Peruvian abroad, and his view of his country’s past and present. This outstanding writer, journalist and thinker will talk to the editor of El País América, Jan Martínez Ahrens.

The award-winning documentary The Adventures of Wonder Woman: Inside the War Against Illegal Gold Mining in Peru’s Amazon investigates the impact of illegal mining, and the use of mercury in this industry, on the indigenous communities of the Madre Dios region. It also follows the efforts made by the public prosecutor Karina Garay to stop these practices, which are so damaging to the environment. The film was produced, filmed and directed by British journalists for the Thomson Reuters Foundation. After the screening there will be a discussion with the participation of Dan Collyns and the prosecutor Garay. This conversation will be moderated by the journalist Joseph Zárate.

Language of the documentary: English and Spanish with subtitles in both languages