Spain recognizes the ‘pain and injustice’ caused to Mexico’s Indigenous peoples

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Friday that the history shared between Spain and Mexico, “like all human history, has its light and dark sides. There has been pain and injustice toward the Indigenous peoples. 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 made these remarks during the opening of the major exhibition called La mitad del mundo. La mujer en el México indígena (Half the World: Women in Indigenous Mexico) at the Instituto Cervantes, one of four venues showcasing over 400 works of art lent by the Mexican government of Claudia Sheinbaum, which is on display until March.

“This exhibition is a milestone in our relations and our brotherhood,” Albares continued. “The deeper meaning of what we are inaugurating goes far beyond these pieces.” The foreign minister also recognized the women whom Sheinbaum has been honoring throughout 2025, which Mexico declared the Year of Indigenous Women: “Today we reclaim the voices of so many women who were silenced. A fair recognition of who they were and who they are.”

Spain has thus taken a fundamental step in its rapprochement with Mexico after relations between the two countries — which share centuries of history — became frosty when former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in 2019, wrote to Spain’s King Felipe VI requesting an apology for the abuses of the conquest. While this was not an explicit request for an apology, the event has become the most significant gesture by the Spanish government after not responding to the former Mexican president’s letter.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged this hours later: “Congratulations on this first step, Spanish foreign minister,” she said from the National Palace, noting it was the first time a Spanish official spoke of regretting the injustices of the Spanish conquest. “Forgiveness elevates nations; it is not humiliating. On the contrary. Recognizing history, acknowledging grievances, asking for forgiveness — or expressing regret — and embracing it as part of history elevates governments,” she added.

Sheinbaum, who had not directly requested an apology from Spain until this Monday, recalled that the letter sent by her predecessor to the Spanish monarch was “very diplomatic.” “We never agreed with how they responded,” said Sheinbaum. On Friday, on the eve of Day of the Dead — a very significant date in Mexico — that response arrived. Sources say this act — on the surface a cultural event — was meticulously organized for nearly a year at the highest diplomatic levels of both countries, almost as an exercise of apapachar — a Mexican term meaning “to caress the soul” — which was also the title of the song that closed the exhibition opening.

Luis García Montero, director of the Instituto Cervantes, inaugurated the event at the institution’s Madrid venue, which hosts the section on Indigenous textile culture, and helped set the tone for the ceremony. “The involvement of the two governments is proof of the efforts of two countries committed to culture and to fostering mutual recognition. Diplomacy is exercised through words, memory, and shared expression,” said the writer and director.

The remaining six speeches by institutional representatives reinforced the shared narrative both countries wished to convey. The event recognized Indigenous communities, Mexican culture, and the legacy of a people whose subjugation during the conquest was openly acknowledged. Phrases such as “This is not just an exhibition,” “It is a recognition of Mexican women,” and “It is a space of respect and future” were repeated. Colonial domination was acknowledged. Constant praise was given for the collaboration between the two countries, especially the Mexican president and the Spanish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, with attendees even shouting: “Viva México y viva España!”

All the speeches followed the same script: a show of unity around a mandate from both governments: a rapprochement after relations between the two countries—with a shared history spanning centuries—were frozen when former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded in 2019 that the King apologize for the atrocities of the conquest. In a way, it was a grand act of recognition of Mexican culture from Madrid at the highest diplomatic level.

Diego Prieto, a spokesperson for Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, said that the exhibition is a dual acknowledgment: “Of the Indigenous peoples who were subjected to colonial domination but were able to resist; and of women, who have made significant progress, although more work is needed to counter centuries of male domination over women.”

Prieto also read aloud the letter that Sheinbaum asked him to read on October 8, when the first exhibition opened at Casa de México in Madrid: “The conquest was a brutal process of violence, imposition, and dispossession. It sought to destroy not just territories, but entire cultures, ancient knowledge, languages, and ways of life. Indigenous women suffered especially from this onslaught: they were silenced, displaced, and violated. Yet they resisted. […] Honoring this legacy means recognizing abuses of the past and present.”

On Monday, Sheinbaum emphasized the exhibition’s importance in a press conference: “We continue to promote the great civilizations that existed before the Spaniards, which shaped our country. And we continue to promote them abroad so that Spaniards can appreciate Mexico’s cultural greatness.” She also stressed that Mexico maintains relations with Spain.

2019: Year of the rupture

In 2019, López Obrador sent a letter to Felipe VI suggesting a joint ceremony in which the monarchy would assume responsibility for the atrocities committed during the conquest of Mexico and the years of the viceroyalty. The Mexican government interpreted the lack of response as disdain by the Spanish monarchy, and relations remained stalled until now, when the two countries have found art to be an alternative means of rapprochement.

Beyond this major exhibition, the rapprochement has also included awarding the Princess of Asturias prizes to photographer Graciela Iturbide and the National Museum of Anthropology. In her speech during the awards ceremony last Friday, Princess Leonor expressed her desire to visit the museum and highlighted its importance: “It preserves, exhibits, and disseminates Mexico’s pre-Hispanic legacy and Indigenous culture.”

Minister Albares also noted that next year Mexico will be the guest country at Fitur, Spain’s major tourism fair. For the first time, all 32 states of Mexico will be represented in Madrid, according to Mexican embassy sources. The Museo de América will host additional cultural activities, along with other joint initiatives that, for now, neither country wishes to reveal.

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