The president-elect of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaumexplained that the reason why the king of Spain was not invited, Felipe VIto the ceremony of transfer of power on October 1, 2024, is due to the fact that a request was not received response to the letter from the president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador He sent the monarch to acknowledge the historical wrongs committed during the conquest and to hold a joint ceremony in 2021.
“Unfortunately, this letter did not merit any direct response, as would have been appropriate to the best diplomatic practice of bilateral relations. Instead, Part of the letter was leaked to the media of communication and subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain issued a press release. To date, this circumstance has not been clarified, nor has the Mexican government been directly responded to,” detailed Sheinbaum Pardo in a text that she shared through her social networks.
Spain has decided not to attend the Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration as president of Mexico, scheduled for October 1, 2024, due to the “unacceptable exclusion” of King Felipe VI from the official invitation. The Spanish government described the omission as a lack of respect for the head of state, who traditionally represents Spain at investiture ceremonies for Ibero-American presidents.
The next president of the Mexican Republic indicated that in light of the decision of the Spanish authorities not to participate in the next protocolary act; the president of that country, Pedro Sanchez Castrejón contacted her to discuss the issue and she told him these reasons.
In March 2019, Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent a letter to Felipe VI in which he proposed “that the Kingdom of Spain publicly and officially express its recognition of the grievances caused and that both countries agree and draft a shared, public and socialized account of their common history, in order to begin a new stage in our relations, fully attached to the principles that currently guide our respective States and to provide future generations on both sides of the Atlantic with the channels for a closer, more fluid and more fraternal coexistence.”
Sheinbaum Pardo reiterated her government’s commitment to put the recognition of indigenous peoples at the centre of its agenda and Afro-Mexicans, mentioning the recent constitutional reform that guarantees their full rights, approved unanimously by the Mexican Congress. He also expressed his hope that this disagreement with Spain would serve as a starting point for renewing understanding between the two nations, based on sovereignty and mutual respect.
