Sergio Ramírez elected to Vargas Llosa's seat at Spanish Royal Academy

Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, winner of the 2017 Cervantes Prize and living in exile in Spain, has been elected by the Plenary of the Real Academia Española (RAE) to occupy chair L, vacant since the death of Mario Vargas Llosa in 2025. Ramírez is a full member of the Nicaraguan Academy of Language. His candidacy was presented by academics Santiago Muñoz Machado (director of the RAE), Víctor García de la Concha (former director of the RAE and the Cervantes Institute), and Luis Mateo Díez (Cervantes Prize 2023). To formally take the seat, Ramírez must deliver his inaugural speech, as per Academy tradition. Ramírez participated in the revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.