(Bloomberg) — Relations between Mexico’s president-elect and Spain are off to a bad start amid grievances over abuses against indigenous peoples committed centuries ago by Spanish conquerors.
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The diplomatic row escalated this week when Madrid announced it would not send a representative to the Oct. 1 inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum, saying Mexico had invited only Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to the ceremony and not King Felipe VI.
Sheinbaum wrote in an open letter published Wednesday that the king was denied an invitation because he failed to respond to a 2019 call from outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for Spain to publicly acknowledge the atrocities that led to the fall of the Aztec civilization and the beginning of Spanish rule in Mexico.
“Recognizing indigenous peoples is fundamental to continue the transformation of our public life, because therein lies the root of Mexico’s cultural greatness,” Sheinbaum wrote in the letter, noting Mexico’s “generous” welcome to Spaniards fleeing the country’s civil war in the 1930s. “Precisely for this reason, our relationship would benefit from a new historical perspective.”
Mexico is just the latest diplomatic challenge Sanchez has faced in Latin America, a region traditionally seen as part of Spain’s main sphere of influence. Earlier this year, the Spanish prime minister summoned his ambassador in Buenos Aires for talks after a clash with Argentina’s Javier Milei. More recently, he was accused of facilitating Nicolas Maduro’s continued power in Venezuela after granting asylum to the opposition leader who challenged him in a disputed election in July.
In Mexico, Sheinbaum said she hopes both countries “will find new ways of understanding, based on our sovereignty and mutual respect.” She received support from Lopez Obrador, who reread the letter he sent to the Spanish king five years ago at a news conference on Wednesday.
Sanchez dismissed Mexico’s complaints, in line with the view shared by many in the country that Spain does not need to apologize for its colonial past.
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