The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbauminsisted this Wednesday on the need for a public apology from Spain for the Conquest, since he considers that apologizing is something that “aggrandizes” governmentswhile ensuring that the bilateral relationship continues to be “good” regardless of this issue.
In his first conference “The morning of the People” After taking office, Sheinbaum referred to the letter that his predecessor sent at the time, Andrés Manuel López Obradorto King Felipe VI requesting an apology for the “wrongs” committed during the Conquest and which, as indicated last week, motivated him not to invite the monarch to the inaugural ceremony.
What AMLO proposed was “to agree on a public apology for the atrocities committed during the Spanish Conquest,” but “the King does not answer the letter,” said Sheinbaum, recalling that “it was a private letter that had to be answered with a private letter, even if I had not agreed.” “The issue here is that not only does he not respond, but that letter is made public and then comes a tremendous campaign against Mexico,” he denounced.
Faced with this position, the Mexican president added, “we say that the public apology in the face of past atrocities magnifies the people, magnifies the governments, it is not about sweeping an event like this under the rug, but rather saying it happened and we do not want to let it happen again, like the case of October 2, 1968“.
The Mexican president assured that the relationship with Spain“it’s good, it doesn’t have to change” although he made it clear that his Government will “always defend” its position that he should apologize. “We believe first that he has to reconsider,” he said, recalling that other European countries or the Vatican “have made public apologies.”
