Lima, (EFE).- Veteran writer Mario Vargas Llosa received Peru’s highest distinction on Wednesday for his long intellectual and literary career, an occasion he took advantage of to highlight the legitimacy of the government of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
The Head of State awarded Vargas Llosa the Order of the Sun in the rank of Grand Collar, prepared by the mint, and received a diploma conferring the highest order, endorsed by the Peruvian Executive, a decision announced by surprise around one hour before the event.
Boluarte declared that the Order of the Sun is “laden with history in the highest hierarchy as a symbol of recognition and gratitude from Peru, as the pride and affection of Peruvians.”
The president referred to Vargas Llosa as the “greatest benchmark of letters in Peru and one of the main ones in America and the world”, in addition to highlighting the Nobel Prize for Literature received in 2010 and his recent incorporation into the French Academy of Language.
“It is a milestone that exalts Peruvian culture, to be the first writer without having written a work in French, but for his award-winning work that is part of the universal heritage,” said Boluarte, who was accompanied at the ceremony by Foreign Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi and other members of the cabinet.
The Head of State also mentioned that Vargas Llosa has dedicated almost all of his work to portraying Peru and that he has remained “involved in what is happening in the society” in which he was born and has been “a stoic defender of democracy and freedom”.
“In moments of sadness and pain, as we have experienced in recent days, your laurels and significance give us hope for the destiny of Peru, for which we are working as we promised from day one,” said Boluarte.
For his part, the man of letters, who attended the ceremony at the Government Palace in Lima accompanied by his children and ex-wife Patricia Llosa, stated that “it is an injustice to maintain, as some interested groups do, that in Peru there has been a rupture of the constitutional order and democracy”.
“Like any democracy, the institutions carry out their tasks, including investigations to punish those who, from whatever position, have committed abuses, offenses or crimes. This is irrefutable proof that a democratic system continues to prevail in our country,” he stated.
He added that, “as is known, some governments in the Latin American region, motivated by ideological reasons or political interests, have intervened improperly in Peruvian affairs (…) questioning the legitimacy of the government” of Boluarte, who took office in December past after the failed self-coup by former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022).
“Those rulers must be reminded that in Peru, where democracy prevails and where we firmly reject their interference that violates international standards and the most basic principles of good neighborliness,” he said.
After the official act, Vargas Llosa told reporters that “the entire process (of presidential change) has been carried out strictly in accordance with the law” and that the “great novelty has been that the Army has supported this purely legal action, in part of the elected representatives.
Boluarte was Castillo’s vice president and assumed the head of state, after the attempted coup d’état that led to the arrest of the ex-president and a complaint against him for rebellion.
“It has been very interesting that the Armed Forces have remained neutral and have not intervened, they are very good signs,” he added.
Vargas Llosa emphasized that, despite the distance, the affairs of Peru “never” have been foreign to him and added, in this sense, that the novel he is writing is set in the Andean country and in Creole music.