The fair is taking place on the heels of a government announcement that Venezuela is free of illiteracy, after a two-and-a-half-year literacy campaign known as Mission Robinson.

The fair is being held at the popular Parque del Este (Eastern Park), near Petare, one of the largest working-class neighborhoods in Caracas. “This is an event that seeks to give the largest number of people the benefit of efforts to democratize access to books and reading material,” said Thady Carabaño, a fair organizer.

Ramón Medero, president of Venezuela’s National Book Center, which organizes the fair, said the event is not an isolated affair but is part of efforts to promote new writers and increase the production and distribution of books throughout the country. At a press conference before the fair’s opening, Medero announced the purchase of a new print shop by the Ministry of Culture. He also said the government has built 23 new bookstores this year—in addition to the 10 built last year—in order to distribute a range of titles by Venezuelan and other publishers.

While the fair has been held annually for many years, it is becoming a truly international event for the first time, organizers said. Publishers from 25 countries are taking part this time, compared to 11 last year. More than 100 Venezuelan exhibitors are present too, while 89 took part in 2004.

Extending literacy and the country’s cultural level is part of the fair’s goal. In July 2003, the government headed by President Hugo Chávez launched Mission Robinson, a literacy campaign throughout Venezuela, among other social programs. The aim was to teach basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to more than 1.5 million people, about 12 percent of adults in the population of 24 million. The government now says this goal has been reached.

Mission Robinson was launched with substantial help from the government of Cuba, which donated tens of thousands of television sets, VCRs, videotapes, and printed materials used in the classes. In addition, dozens of Cuban instructors helped train Venezuelan volunteers to teach peasants, fishermen, workers, and others to read and write. In the last two years, the literacy efforts have been expanded with Mission Ribas and Mission Sucre, which aim, respectively, to aid millions to get a high school diploma and to obtain vocational or pre-university training.

For the first time this year the fair will travel to nine other Venezuelan states after the nine-day stint in Caracas, offering books at low cost to many.

“Traditionally, governments prevent people from getting an education, because they are afraid of a mass of thinking people,” said Emma Cesín Centeno, vice minister of cultural development.

Entrance to the book fair is free of charge. Many working-class families and youth are visiting the park where it is held. In addition to book exhibits, daily activities include poetry readings, musical performances, book presentations, and forums.

Participating writers and other literary figures include Esteban Emilio Mosonyi, María Flores, Antonio Acosta Márquez, and others from Venezuela; Mexican writer Paco Ignacio Taibo; Esmeralda Brown, a Panamanian who lives in the United States; Pedro Antonio Valdés of the Dominican Republic; and Nancy Morejón, Jorge Timossi, Aleida Guevara, Armando Hart, and Iroel Sánchez of Cuba.

For the second year in a row Pathfinder Press from the United States has a booth at the fair.  
 
 
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