Mexico Snubs Spanish King as Colonial Past Dispute Escalates

By David Alire Garcia and Belén Carreño

MEXICO CITY/MADRID – A historical dispute spanning over five centuries came to the forefront on Wednesday as Mexico’s incoming president defended her choice not to invite the Spanish king to her inauguration next week, following the monarch’s refusal to apologize for colonial-era wrongs.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized this decision earlier in the day, calling the king’s exclusion "unacceptable," just days before President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum takes office on October 1.

In an unusual move, the Spanish government announced it would not send any representative to the event, heightening diplomatic tensions that could overshadow Sheinbaum’s inauguration in Mexico City, once the center of Spain’s extensive colonial empire in the Americas after the fall of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, in 1521. The city was constructed atop the ruins of this ancient metropolis.

In a letter shared on social media, Sheinbaum explained that only Prime Minister Sanchez had been invited, largely because King Felipe VI did not respond directly to a personal letter sent by the previous Mexican president in 2019.

That letter from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a key ally of Sheinbaum, requested the king to "publicly and officially" acknowledge the abuses committed during the conquest of Mexico to foster a more amicable relationship between the two nations.

"Unfortunately, that letter did not elicit a direct response," Sheinbaum noted, indicating she had spoken with Sanchez just days prior to her announcement.

In 2019, Lopez Obrador aimed to organize an event in 2021 to commemorate the anniversaries of the conquest, Mexico’s 19th-century independence from Spain, and the founding of Tenochtitlan in the 1300s. He also sought an apology from Pope Francis for the atrocities committed against Mexico’s indigenous peoples, along with the repatriation of pre-Hispanic books and artifacts held in European institutions.

While the Pope did not respond to Lopez Obrador directly, he previously acknowledged the "grave sins" committed against indigenous peoples in the name of God. After Lopez Obrador reiterated his request for a formal apology following the public release of his letter, Spain’s foreign ministry rejected it, stating that the conquest should not be judged by contemporary standards.

The outgoing Mexican president has frequently invoked the Spanish conquest to evoke nationalist feelings, emphasizing that Mexico is no longer a colony.

During the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, when questioned by reporters about whether Spain should issue an apology, Sanchez avoided a direct answer.

"We can’t accept this exclusion, and that’s why we informed the Mexican government that the absence of any diplomatic representative from Spain is a sign of protest," Sanchez stated, adding, "We consider this not only unacceptable but also inexplicable."