The FIL and reading

I am a reader thanks to the fact that I always saw my dad with a book, and one of the things I enjoy the most is opening it, smelling it, feeling the paper and overflowing my imagination. I visit many of the places I know because I read about them in a story. Opening a book gives you the opportunity to meet, learn, discover, and of course change lives. A reader will be a good writer, because he improves spelling, expands vocabulary and is a questioner.

The Guadalajara International Book Fair is the most important Spanish-speaking fair and one of the most visited worldwide. This year 806 thousand people attended, according to official data, a much higher number than in 2021 due to Covid restrictions, but not the same as in 2019 when we lived without a pandemic.

According to a press release, the Fil leaves an economic benefit of 700 million pesos for the state of Jalisco, this of course represents an important part of the state’s economy, but it also provides employment for many people directly and indirectly, it is also a fundamental part of the culture.

The most important publishers in the world come to present their latest copies, negotiations are underway so that more works are translated into Spanish, an example of this is that this year was dedicated to Arab culture, which is very interesting to learn about because it is far from for us and they have a very different vision that can make it complement ours.

Now, what does it mean to have an editorial and literary meeting like this? Let’s go in parts, having one of the festivals of letters of this magnitude should be reflected in the number of readers that Mexico has, but the reality is far from this being the case. According to data from Inegi’s MOLEC Reading Module, 8 out of 10 people read some material in 2016, and by 2022 only 7 out of 10. In addition, Mexicans read 3.9 books a year and literature is what is most consumed with 39.5 percent. This is the year that the most books have been read since the MOLEC began in 2015. But it is also necessary to know what we are reading, according to the Inegi what we read the most are books, but what kind of books, well there are some that do not contribute to the improvement of the intellect.

We could get much more out of it, but Mexicans read an average of 38 minutes, and we spend three hours and 20 minutes on social networks. What does this reflect? We have all the potential to spend much more time reading with one of the most important book fairs in the world. But this leads us to a problem that currently exists with social networks, we have increasingly shorter videos, where something has to be exposed quickly or the person changes to another video, for this reason time is not invested in reading; there is no competition when everything goes so fast. This is where homeschooling can make a big difference. If you spend at least 20 minutes reading with your children, this will become a habit and we will have young readers who will become readers for life. The school is also an excellent differentiator, it is not just leaving readings, it is analyzing them and breaking them down in such a way that those people question themselves about everything.

We have various publishers that have cheap stamps, which can be found in bookstores for up to 50 pesos, but if we don’t invest time in reading with the new generations, nothing will work. It must be remembered that 53 percent of Mexicans understand most of what we read and that only 30.2 percent understand everything. We have a high number of the population that is functionally illiterate, those who know how to read, but do not understand what What read.

Illiterate peoples are easy to deceive, to not question anything their government does and this affects decision-making on important issues such as health, education, economy, politics, public policies, etc.

As Dr. Mauricio Merino very well pointed out, “FIL is a cascade of authors, creators, editors, booksellers, readers, journalists and students who met in a vital meeting of intelligence, resistance and freedom.”

We should continue celebrating in a place of literary creation, thought and art where people can raise reading levels and of course, levels of knowledge, progress, reduction of poverty and marginalization. May the FIL continue for many years and may the reading level of Mexicans increase.

Dr. Claudia Ivett Romero-Delgado. Academic of the Panamerican University.