Clarification no porque with the indicative

Question

In the section about no porque you say: "if the causal subordinate clause is negative, it allows both the indicative and the subjunctive (without changing the meaning)."A says that no porque must be used with the subjunctive according to the Cervantes Institute, and you (Inma) seem to agree with him, saying: "with no porque you use the subjunctive."I just did a Kwiz where "no porque era" was a correct option.So, what is going on there? Can no porque take both the subjunctive and the indicative or just the subjunctive?

Accepted Answer

Hola D 
I'm not sure where from Instituto Cervantes A read that it is only possible to use the subjunctive with "no porque" - you can use both the indicative and the subjunctive as the lesson is stating. 
If you take these two contrasting examples that we have in the lesson:

Yo voy al gimnasio, no porque me guste, sino porque debo perder peso.
I go to the gym, not because I like it, but because I must lose weight.

Yo voy al gimnasio, no porque me gusta, sino porque debo perder peso.
I go to the gym, not because I like it, but because I must lose weight.

We are using the subjunctive in the first one indicating that "me, liking the gym" is something seen as "background" information, maybe something that has been said before, therefore it's some information that was shared before. (nothing new)
We are using the indicative in the second one indicating that "me, liking the gym" is something that is being "declared" at the moment of speaking by the speaker, it's seen as some bit of information that is new for the listener. 
(When replying to A in that other thread, I said "with no porque you use the subjunctive", which you can, but I didn't say that we also use the indicative. I may have misread what A was really saying or didn't go into detail on the answer.)
I hope this clarified it. 
Saludos

Answer

Thanks for the quick answer and  clarification, Inma!