Mario Vargas Llosa, giant of Latin American literature, dies at age 89

Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian Nobel Prize–winning novelist and outspoken professional of Latin American authoritarianism who famously labeled Mexico a “perfect dictatorship,” died Sunday successful Lima.

His lad Álvaro reported that the writer, who had turned 89 connected March 28, died peacefully surrounded by family.

Vargas Llosa often visited Mexico to enactment successful literate oregon governmental events. In 2011 helium provided narration astatine a presumption of the Thousand and One Nights astatine the Palacio de Bellas Artes successful Mexico City. (Guillermo Perea/Cuartoscuro.com)

Vargas Llosa was a prolific writer and essayist with specified celebrated novels arsenic 1963’s “La ciudad y los perros” (published successful English arsenic “The Time of the Hero”) and 1969’s “Conversación en la catedral” (“Conversation successful the Cathedral”).

In winning the 2010 Nobel Prize successful Literature for his assemblage of work, Vargas Llosa was recognized by the committee “for his cartography of structures of powerfulness and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt and defeat.”

With novels that dissected authoritarianism, societal violence, warfare and governmental corruption, helium was a starring dependable of the emergent Latin American Boom literate question of 50-60 years ago.

Mexicophiles and bibliophiles mightiness callback Vargas Llosa arsenic a predominant impermanent astatine the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIS), the largest literate lawsuit successful the Spanish-speaking world.

He opened the 2014 literate programme with a dialog with Israeli writer David Grossman, presented his caller “Cinco esquinas” (“Five Corners”) and was honored for his 80th day successful 2016, and appeared for a last clip astatine property 83 successful 2019 to contiguous his caller “Tiempos recios” (“Harsh Times”).

But Vargas Llosa’s main narration with Mexico was defined by his 1990 declaration that its one-party regularisation nether the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) constituted a “perfect dictatorship.”

In 2010, Vargas Llosa was successful Mexico City to person an honorary doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro.com)

Decades later, helium criticized then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for “sliding toward authoritarianism,” accusing him of undermining property state done regular attacks connected journalists during his mañanera property conferences.

“I don’t deliberation that’s the relation of a president; it violates that role,” Vargas Llosa said successful 2021.

López Obrador dismissed the novelist’s critiques arsenic blimpish rhetoric, asserting the writer misunderstood Mexico’s realities. 

But AMLO besides took purpose astatine the president and founder of the Guadalajara publication just (FIS), Raúl Padilla, for inviting writers and intellectuals whom the president felt were opponents of his medication — citing Vargas Llosa by name.

Undeterred, an 87-year-old Vargas Llosa opened a publication just bearing his name, the Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial, successful 2023 by saying that “populism, demagoguery, statism, intolerance and ideological extremism are causing overmuch damage” successful Latin America.

Those comments — which Vargas Llosa claimed were astir his autochthonal Peru and not Mexico — occurred successful Guadalajara, wherever the every-other-year lawsuit is usually held, though aboriginal this twelvemonth it volition instrumentality spot successful Spain for the archetypal time.

That festival, successful conjunction with the FIS and different entities, besides hands retired the Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Novel Prize — a US $100,000 grant considered 1 of the astir prestigious successful the Spanish-speaking world.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged Vargas Llosa’s decease successful her Monday greeting property conference, stating, “Beyond governmental differences, we indispensable admit the greatness of a writer. Our condolences spell to his family.”

Former President Felipe Calderón honored him arsenic a “universal voice” for renowned novels specified arsenic 1981’s “La guerra del fin del mundo” (“The War of the End of the World”) and 2000’s “La fiesta del chivo” (“The Feast of the Goat”), portion novelist Xavier Velasco recalled his wit and societal consciousness.

In his aboriginal years, the writer opposed inclusive connection reforms, calling efforts to regenerate gendered presumption similar todos with todxs “a stupidity by modern feminists.” He argued Spanish’s grammatical operation was “natural” and warned against “denaturalizing language.”

Born successful Arequipa, Peru, successful 1936, Vargas Llosa spent decades successful Europe earlier returning to Peru, wherever helium ran unsuccessfully for president successful 1990. He reportedly spent his last months revisiting Lima landmarks featured successful his novels. 

With reports from Infobae, Milenio and Associated Press