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"Different voices must speak up and say enough, not only to Donald Trump, because he may or may not become a candidate, but to everything he represents," said Enrique Krauze.
Along with the U.S.-based Cuban intellectual Carmelo Mesa-Lago, the Mexican historian promoted the "Declaration of Hispanic intellectuals, scientists and scholars Against Trump's Xenophobia", an open letter signed by 67 Hispanic personalities like Mario Vargas Llosa, Elena Poniatowska, Jorge Edwards and Antonio Muñoz Molina, among others.
In a telephone interview with EL UNIVERSAL, Krauze, in Mérida for a series of lectures, said that the statement was signed by Hispanics who refuse "to keep silent about the alarming statements" made by the Republican presidential hopeful, and added that it can serve to alert all the people who share a culture and a language and who live and work in the United States that they have to be alert because it constitutes a real risk.
How was the letter conceived?
It was an idea of Carmelo Mesa-Lago, the eminent Cuban economist who lives in the United States since the 60s. He shared the idea with me and we started working on it. When we had the final version we circulated it among a hundred people and we got a good response. Some refused to sign for various reasons; some good reasons, some respectable and others less so, but in general the response was very good and I am sure everyone who deserves to be there signed the letter.
What is the purpose of the letter, in addition to expressing disagreement?
At the beginning Donald Trump's candidature seemed a joke, an idea of a TV or business celebrity, but as time has gone by we realized that this is not a joke, much less what he preaches, let alone the acceptance his ideas have had in a sector of the U.S. electorate.
We knew that racism and xenophobia were present in American society, but not so widely represented. Now we now know that racism and xenophobia are deeply rooted in the south, southeast and especially in the center of the U.S. This combination of a racist, xenophobic, fearful and predominantly white electorate with a candidate of this nature is very worrying.
Do the voices of intellectuals, scientists and thinkers have power?
Definitely no, but maybe we have some intellectual, artistic, scientific, moral and/or academic authority, and that little authority should be “invested”, even if it is a small gesture.
We have no money to buy a page on the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, but some American media in English, as well as Mexican and Spanish media, published it.
Hopefully this letter will touch the heart and reason of the undecided Republican electorate and convince them that this option is suicidal and unworthy of the best liberal and democratic tradition of the United States.
Had intellectuals and academics made a statement before?
As far as I know, no, and this is what we hope to achieve with the letter: that our co-nationals, either residents or simply living there, and much more undocumented immigrants, are aware that the danger is real, that this is not a reality show, but reality.
Do you and Carmelo plan to give continuity to the letter?
We have very limited resources, we would need to reach more American media, but to the extent that the Spanish-speaking community raises its voice, we will be heard, because we have given so much to America.
