Spain’s King Felipe excluded from Mexican president’s inauguration over silence to request for apology for Spanish conquest

Claudia Sheinbaum, the president-elect of Mexico, confirmed that she did not invite Spain’s King Felipe to her inauguration because he did not respond to the letter sent by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which demanded an apology for the excesses committed during the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

She acknowledged this in a statement published on Tuesday, in which she stated that she spoke with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez by phone a couple of days ago to discuss the matter. “Unfortunately, this letter [sent by López Obrador] did not merit any direct response, as would have corresponded to the best diplomatic practice,” said Sheinbaum, who will assume the presidency on October 1. “Instead, part of the letter was leaked in the media and after that, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release,”

Despite the snub to Felipe VI, Sheinbaum assured that “Mexico and Spain share a solid relationship of friendship,” but said that “it would benefit from a renewed perspective.” López Obrador endorsed his support for Sheinbaum’s decision, “like millions of Mexicans.” “They acted with a lot of arrogance, they never answered a respectful and formal letter,” lamented the president in his daily press conference.

The Spanish government announced on Tuesday that it would not be represented “at any level” at the historic inauguration, which will see Mexico’s first female president take office, arguing that Felipe’s exclusion from the event was “unacceptable.”

Sheinbaum confirmed that an invitation was only sent to Sánchez, in his capacity as head of the Spanish government, last July. The president-elect’s team announced last week that 16 leaders have confirmed their attendance: 13 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and three from Africa.

“I trust that this circumstance, which today highlights our diversity of opinions, will also be the starting point for Mexico and Spain to soon find new ways of understanding based on our sovereignty and mutual respect,” said Sheinbaum. The president-elect recalled that the Latin American country has been “a supportive ally and a generous destination” in critical moments in Spain’s history, and expressed her hope that “the full recognition of our identities will be the axis of a respectful, solid and fruitful relationship.”

Sheinbaum also quoted an excerpt from the letter that López Obrador sent to King Felipe in March 2019, which demanded an apology for the Conquest and the colonial period. “That the Kingdom of Spain express in a public and official manner the recognition of the grievances caused,” reads the missive, published just three months after López Obrador began his mandate.

The request, however, received no response from La Zarzuela, the seat of the Spanish royal family, and the Spanish government firmly rejected the letter. Relations between Spain and Mexico have cooled since then, although there was no official rupture. Felipe VI was at the inauguration of López Obrador in 2018, Enrique Peña Nieto in 2012 and Felipe Calderón in 2006. Sánchez’s last visit to Mexico was in January 2019.

López Obrador insisted that the dispute is with Spanish authorities and not with the Spanish people. “We are talking about differences with the Spanish monarchy, which was respectfully asked to offer an apology to the native peoples of Mexico for the atrocities committed,” he stressed. The president said that the Crown must leave behind its “arrogant” attitude and that Spain must present “new generations of Spaniards” with a different story about the conquest of America. “What does it cost them to offer an apology?” he asked.

The president also announced his full support for Sheinbaum’s decision to exclude the King. “It is a blessing that the people of Mexico have decided, through a democratic process and as never before, that we have a president like Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, it is the best thing that could have happened to us,” said the president, founder of Morena, the party in which Sheinbaum is also a member.

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