Mexico and Spain open the door to diplomatic reconciliation after seven years of tensions
The Spanish government has acknowledged the injustices committed during the Conquest, a first step toward resolving the dispute between the two countries over differing interpretations of that historical event
Mexico and Spain have taken what appears to be a definitive step toward diplomatic reconciliation after nearly seven years of tension stemming from a dispute over differing interpretations of the Spanish Conquest.
In 2019, former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded that the Spanish Crown apologize for the violence committed during that period against Indigenous peoples — an appeal that the current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has made her own. Spain, which initially dismissed any possibility of issuing such an apology in strong terms, acknowledged last Friday — through Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares — that there was “pain and injustice” inflicted upon the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
While the statement did not come directly from the Crown, as the Mexican government had hoped, it nonetheless represents a gesture of enormous symbolic and political significance, aimed at repairing the strained diplomatic relationship — which at times verged on hostility — between two nations that share more than just a language.
Signs of rapprochement had been growing — not through politics, but through culture. Spain granted two Princess of Asturias Awards this year to Mexico: the Arts Award to photographer Graciela Iturbide, and the Concord Award to the National Museum of Anthropology. In turn, Mexico loaned more than 400 pre-Hispanic pieces related to Indigenous women’s art to be exhibited in four shows in Madrid.
It was precisely at the opening of one of these exhibitions, titled Half of the World: Women in Indigenous Mexico, where the Gordian knot that politics had failed to untangle was finally loosened. There, Albares stated that the shared history between Mexico and Spain, “like all human history, has its light and dark sides.” “There was injustice, and it is right to acknowledge it and regret it. This is part of our shared history; we cannot deny or forget it,” he said. The minister also reiterated the Spanish people’s gratitude for Mexico’s welcome of exiles from Franco’s dictatorship — another point underscoring the fraternal bond between the two countries.
Sheinbaum, who welcomed the Spanish minister’s acknowledgment, has continued to uphold López Obrador’s demand for an apology, first made through a letter sent to King Felipe VI in early 2019. In her recent memoir, Journal of a Historic Transition, about the start of her presidency, Sheinbaum recounts that the Crown’s lack of response to that letter — and the “campaign” of attacks unleashed against her predecessor by various political and media sectors in Spain — led to her controversial decision not to invite the King to her inauguration. The ceremony was historic, marking the first time a woman has led the Latin American nation in its two centuries of independence. Sheinbaum has stated, both in her book and in several public appearances, that the letter sent by the former president — which she describes as “respectful” — deserved an official response in kind, even if only to say: no.
The decision not to invite King Felipe VI to that official event only further strained bilateral relations. Sheinbaum’s book reveals that Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, made every effort — through quick, informal channels — to persuade her to change her stance. She did not yield. “I told him it wasn’t the right moment,” she recounts. López Obrador was still in power at the time, though already in the final months of his presidency. Sheinbaum has denied that her decision to exclude the Spanish monarch was influenced by her predecessor. On the contrary, she says she shares his call for historical forgiveness, and she has repeated many of his same arguments in defending her position: that “forgiveness ennobles,” that even Pope Francis — who also received the letter — issued an apology, and that Mexico itself has asked forgiveness from other peoples once massacred by the state.
While it seemed that Sheinbaum would maintain López Obrador’s unyielding line, the same appeared true of the Spanish Crown and government. Yet the channels were different. Beneath the rigid layer of politics, a vigorous cultural exchange flowed between the two nations. During the exhibitions of pre-Hispanic artifacts in Madrid, Princess Leonor, the King’s daughter, expressed her wish to visit Mexico — its Chapultepec Forest and the remnants of its Indigenous civilizations. Sheinbaum did not comment directly on this extended hand, but emphasized that there was no rupture with Spain, as evidenced by the ongoing economic, touristic, academic, and cultural exchanges. The political elephant in the room, however, remained unaddressed. After all, the last time King Felipe and the Spanish prime minister had visited Mexico was before the explosive letter demanding an apology: the former in December 2018, the latter in January 2019.
Sheinbaum has said that sending the pre-Hispanic pieces to Spain aimed to “make Mexico’s cultural greatness visible there.” “Honoring this legacy means acknowledging the abuses of the past and of the present,” she declared this Friday. The Mexican president criticized the lingering notion that the Conquest was a civilizing process for “barbaric” peoples — or that it was merely an “encounter” between cultures — interpretations still deeply rooted in both countries. “They even taught us that in school,” she said. “But it was very violent. It was a process of violent invasion.”
Spain has begun to thaw diplomatic relations before the seven-year mark, despite protests from more conservative sectors. “It’s important. It’s a first step,” Sheinbaum acknowledged, adding, as she addressed Albares: “Congratulations on this first step, Spanish foreign minister.”
Spain began to thaw bilateral relations before the seventh anniversary of the rupture, despite the demands of the most conservative sectors. “It’s important. It’s a first step,” Sheinbaum acknowledged, adding, addressing Albares: “Congratulations on this first step, Spanish foreign minister.”
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