Thursday, September 26, 2024

Mexico’s Snub to King Felipe Rekindles Colonialism Row with Spain

THE GUARDIAN: President-elect refuses to invite Spanish king to her inauguration after lack of apology for crimes of conquest

A festering diplomatic row between Mexico and Spain has been reopened after the Latin American country’s leftwing president-elect refused to invite King Felipe to her inauguration because of his failure to apologise for crimes committed against Mexico’s Indigenous people during the conquest 500 years ago.

In 2019, Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote to King Felipe and Pope Francis, calling for them to apologise for the “abuses” of the conquest and the colonial period.

“I have sent a letter to the king of Spain and another to the pope calling for a full account of the abuses and urging them to apologise to the Indigenous peoples [of Mexico] for the violations of what we now call their human rights,” López Obrador said in a video, which he posted to his social media accounts. » | Sam Jones, Madrid correspondent | Thursday, September 26, 2024