CLACSO's solidarity with CONABIP

The Latin American Council of Social Sciences stands in solidarity with the National Commission of Popular Libraries (CONABIP) of Argentina and highlights its importance as a space for social and cultural inclusion, for meeting, knowledge, and education. CONABIP has approximately 1.500 libraries in the country and more than 4.000.000 readers.

In a message, Karina Batthyány, Executive Director of CLACSO, highlights that “It is necessary that CONABIP maintain its federal and autonomous character and that its budget not undergo modifications that alter the mission of developing and promoting reading that it has been fulfilling since its founding more than 150 years ago by Domingo F. Sarmiento. We understand that Decrees 345/25 and 346/25, which directly attack CONABIP, put its functioning at risk.” With the new regulations, the National Commission of Popular Libraries will cease to be a decentralized federal body, with relative autonomy from the Executive Branch, and will instead depend on the Secretariat of Culture of the Nation.

“We are convinced –continues Karina Batthyány– that access to reading and culture is a right and we defend community libraries as spaces of freedom, collective construction and resistance.” And concludes: “Against the austerity measures and the cultural decline, we say NO to its defunding.”