From the country of “freedoms,” the self-proclaimed defender of justice and international rights, from the country that fought against fascism in the 20th Century, from the country that has waged its latest wars by brandishing people’s rights to self-determination, from the country that has been built by immigrants—that is where the banning of several books, including one of my own, has originated, books snatched from students because the law deemed them detrimental.
Worse yet is that this initiative, one of the greatest blows against freedom of speech and culture, comes from Arizona, a state that was once a territory of Mexico.
I am very sorry for this, not so much because of my work, but because of an educational system that denied its students the right to receive another point of view, to know other ways of life, to find relief in a breath of fresh air that allows them to acquire a planetary consciousness.
I hope this situation can be overcome with the conscience and good judgment of those who strive and fight for a more open mentality, by those who wish that the principles of freedom become a reality in their own country.
Laura Esquivel is the author of several novels, including the bestseller “Like Water for Chocolate,” which was made into a major motion picture.