Speech by the President of the Government of Spain at the presentation of the National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad

Cervantes Institute, Madrid

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN, PEDRO SÁNCHEZ

Thank you very much and good morning to you all. Firstly, to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel; the Minister for Culture, Ernest; and the director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis. Of course, the presenter of this event, Cayetana. And to all the authorities and all the friends of culture who are with us on this important day.

As has been said before here, by two career diplomats, Ernest and José Manuel. Spain is, in fact, culture. And, therefore, our way of being and being in the world if anything defines it, is culture.

Spain has spent many centuries wondering what place it wanted to occupy in the world. And the answer was always here, in front of us: in Cervantes, in Lorca, in Velázquez, in Buñuel, in María Zambrano, in Maruja Mallo, in our universities, in our centres of thought, in our language, in our music, in our cinema, in our streets, with urban art.

In short, Spain is art because it's in us. Even in difficult times, as the world is indeed going through and therefore Europe and also, consequently, Spain, our country, never stopped believing. It did it when so many had to move far from our home, from Spain. It did so when the censorship wanted to impose silence. It did so even when it seemed that fear was stronger than freedom. Culture has always found that way, that way of living.

Perhaps that says something very interesting in my opinion, not only about who we were and who we actually are now, but about who we aspire to be. Because obviously there are countries that leave their mark due to the power they accumulate, the extraordinary power they accumulate. There are others who probably achieve something much more difficult and that is to be part of that emotional imagination of the world.

That is why, at this time when some are proclaiming, as has been reflected in the video, the culture of force, the culture of war, we choose an opposite, alternative path, I think much more inspiring and, of course, much more positive and hopeful for the citizens, not only of Spain but of the world, which is the strength of culture, as the slogan for the event says.

I believe that Spain, when it has given the best of itself, has never been trying to impose itself by force. Obviously, we do not have that culture or that capacity, but we have done it from culture, from ideas, from creation, from positioning, from values, from principles. Because, after all, Cayetana, the host of this event, asked why culture is so important, because culture in the end is values, they are principles that we transfer and export to foreign citizens.

And through this approach - so characteristic of us, so quintessentially Spanish - of transforming pain into art, memory into poetry, or freedom into a way of looking at the world, I believe that few artists understood this as well as Goya, as we have also seen in the video, in The Disasters of War; for what Goya captured was violence, fear and fanaticism, but also human dignity, which is the most inspiring aspect of his work in the face of barbarism.

Perhaps that is why I think Goya is still so current, because he not only portrayed the Spain of his time, he also portrayed conflicts that continue today, including people who could legitimately think that they were forgotten, but that are indeed consubstantial to the history of humanity. The tension between reason and extremism, between freedom and authoritarianism. It also embodied one of the great contradictions of our history, one of the great paradoxes of our history, and that is that of our country; capable of producing universal geniuses, as we have produced and are producing and here it has been commented on before. We have, of course, the presence of many of them here. We were and are capable of producing universal geniuses, but too many times we have not been able to protect and even recognise them.

Goya. His life is there. He died in exile outside our country, in Bordeaux, far from the land he had painted better than anyone else. That history, unfortunately, would be repeated on many occasions, probably too many times, with writers, with musicians, with a good part of the generation of '27, where we are indeed going to commemorate that important milestone.

Every time intolerance advanced, unfortunately Spain lost talent and every time culture was persecuted, our country became smaller. It happened in the past and it is also happening today. Therefore, to talk about culture is to talk about values, it is to talk about principles, it is also to talk about democracy, rights, freedoms and something that may sound uncommon in public debate, but that is very important for citizens in their day-to-day lives, which is coexistence.

You see, I believe that the greatest success of our foreign policy as a whole is that Spain is not feared, we are seen as an ally, constructive country. It may or may not think the same as other friendly and allied nations, but that in short, we have a clear, consistent, coherent position and that it does not try to attack anyone or make itself feared, but simply build bridges.

In short, they want to look like us. I believe that this is the great success of Spanish foreign policy, that we do not inspire fear, but respect. We inspire, and nothing more. I think it's important at the moment the world is going through.

Today, as the Minister for Culture, Ernest, said earlier, there are millions of Spaniards, but not only many people outside our country, who look to Spain as a reference of inspiration.

They do it because they see in us a way, it may even seem simple, simple to say, easy to do, but it is not so evident at a time like the present, well, they see in us as open in the world. They see creativity, they see respect for that creation, they see plurality, they see respect and also admiration for its diversity, they see a society capable of living together in that difference, they see a country that defends culture, freedom, dialogue in a time accustomed to a lot of confrontation and, unfortunately, a lot of noise.

They also see that our country speaks clearly. We don't speak louder than others, nor lower either, but when we speak, of course, we are understood. People know perfectly well what the Government of Spain's position is, and of their country, when, for example, we have to deal with issues related to war and, therefore, the position of peace.

We do it, I think, and this is what is relevant, with credibility. I don't want to dwell on it either, but we are all very aware of what I am sharing.

Today there are millions of people who know that being Spanish goes far beyond the passport; that being Spanish is a way of being in the world, of seeing the world. And I think that in this framework, culture not only transmits those values that, of course, but above all embodies them.

I think that, in short, as the Minister for Culture and the Minister for Foreign Affairs said before, I think it's incredible that Spain is the fourth world power in culture and heritage, according to this index for 2026, related to what they call soft power.

We are the second tourist destination on the planet and we are not only so because of our biodiversity, which of course, we admire and love and must take care of with great affection, but cultural elements are its main mode of attraction.

One in four visitors arrives due to the attraction of the culture. Because obviously culture is not an ornament, it is an industry. Although it is obviously a truism, it creates employment, it projects reputation, international reputation, it builds collective self-esteem, I think this is also important, to build collective self-esteem.

There are cultural and creative sectors that employ almost 800,000 people in our country. Every euro invested in culture, our economy generates 1.75 euros of added value.

We have filmmakers who conquer Cannes, musicians who fill stadiums, writers and illustrators who are internationally admired, in short, we also have some of the best restaurants on the planet, which I think is also relevant to say, chefs who revolutionised and revolutionise contemporary gastronomy.

I believe that there are many examples to elaborate on in this extraordinary situation and moment that culture is experiencing in our country and outside our country as a whole.

I think for too long, because we are probably content to export extraordinary individuals instead of building a real organised cultural power. We exported talent, without a doubt, but not always through an ecosystem capable of projecting it with full force. Humbly, in my opinion, that is the challenge faced, Minister for Culture and Minister for Foreign Affairs, by this National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad 2026-2028, a plan that I remember perfectly I committed myself to presenting at the Costume Museum a year ago and that today fortunately is a reality.

What exactly does this plan mean? You know, I don't want to focus much more on it either. It means that we are going to better help our cultural industries, we are going to help them open markets, to gain a greater international presence. It means that we are going to concentrate efforts, which I think is also important, in strategic regions for our country, where Spain has a lot of room for cultural and economic growth. And I am thinking of Asia, of Latin America, of the United States, of some of the parts of that great African continent.

It also means reinforcing something essential and that is Spanish as a global language, of culture, of knowledge, of influence. I think it is also about incorporating this aspect, this angle, into cultural action and, of course, not forgetting the co-official languages. Above all, and this is what I would like to conclude this speech with, I think it means something very important and that is to better coordinate all the cultural scaffolding that our country already has.

What am I going to tell you that you don't know. Each institution has its own inertia, its own identity and, therefore, to bring them all into agreement. In short, it is no coincidence that two diplomats have been chosen to lead the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because, indeed, it is always complicated, it is always difficult. Everyone has their interests, which are legitimate, which are perfectly understandable. Getting everyone to agree is always complex, it is not easy, but we have achieved it. I believe that improving this coordination is fundamental. We cannot limit ourselves to having great names, I believe that we have to consolidate the great name of our country, in capital letters, of Spain, building on that great cultural reference that we are, which is recognisable, which is solid, which is permanent and which, by the way, already is and exists in the world. We must go much further: we have to capitalise our large assets better in a much more strategic, much more articulated and somewhat more intelligent way.

I believe that we have great cultural institutions of enormous capacity, with international outlook, and also great leaders who live, feel, understand culture, and also have a significant ability for dialogue. From the Cervantes Institute, which is hosting the presentation of this plan to, of course, Acción Cultural Española, museums, creators, in short, cultural industries. Talent exists in abundance and so does capacity. What we probably needed was to continue to better implement that shared strategy, which I think we have done, to join forces, to multiply the impact.

In short, if we look at those countries that believe in their culture, obviously what they do is not improvise their presence in the world, what they do is plan it, promote it and turn it, therefore, into a state policy. Well, we will probably talk more about country politics; I like to say it in those terms.

That is why I think that, in 2026, as we have seen before, this Dual Year that we are celebrating with India is important, together, I think it is a great opportunity to project our culture in such a populous country, the most populous on the planet. I had the opportunity, by the way, to be with some of the urban artists who are undoubtedly filling large cities in India with Spanish art and urban art. The Ibero-American summit in Madrid, which is going to be very important; the 250 years of the United States, where more than 60 million Spanish speakers live. In short, there are also very important issues such as the opening of the Cervantes Institute in Seoul, South Korea; the Goya Year, the centenary of the generation of '27.

I think we are clear about the roadmap that we have drawn up together. I think we can, of course, look back with pride, that we can look to the present with confidence and, above all, that we can look to the future with ambition.

In the end, the culture of a country does not live only from its anniversaries, which are undoubtedly very important because the memory is there. In the end it also gives us that identity because we have roots. Nor do we rely solely on institutional schemes - although those institutions are incredibly important - but on something much simpler, which is, in short, what I'd like to end on: something much more genuine. In short, they live on in a song someone listens to on their way home, in a book full of underlined passages, in a film that touches us deeply, in a play, in a visit to a museum, in a story that stays with us for a lifetime. And Spain is full of all that.

As you know, every Saturday I try to do my bit by sharing these cultural recommendations on certain social media platforms, and, to be honest, I could spend years doing it; years and years promoting the talent we have in our country. So today my recommendation is very simple and can be summed up only in one word, which is Spain. Let's never get tired of recommending Spain, because there are very few countries, I would say that it is the only country in the world capable of exciting, creating and inspiring as Spain does.

Thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Original speech in Spanish

Non official translation