Diplomatic tensions have arisen between Spain and Mexico after the Spanish government announced it will not send any representatives to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum next week, in light of the fact that the king of Spain is not on the guest list.
A statement announcing this decision from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said it was “unacceptable” that Sheinbaum had not issued an invitation to King Felipe VI to attend her swearing-in on Oct. 1 as Mexico’s first female president.
In a letter posted to X on Tuesday, Sheinbaum confirmed that no invitation had been sent to the Spanish monarch, but said that one had been extended to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the head of government in Spain, in July. “A few days ago, he [Sánchez] called me and we discussed the matter,” she added.
The reason Sheinbaum gave for not inviting King Felipe VI was that he ignored a personal letter sent to him by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2019, in which he requested the Spanish monarchy recognize in a “public and official manner” the “damages” caused during the Spanish conquest of what is today Mexico.
“Unfortunately, this letter did not receive any direct response, as would have been expected in diplomatic best practices,” said Sheinbaum.
“Mexico and Spain share a solid friendship,” she wrote, while noting that “the recognition of the Indigenous peoples is a fundamental issue in the advancement of the transformation of our public life.”
Prime Minister Sánchez — who is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) — has described Sheinbaum’s government as “progressive,” and lamented her snub of the Spanish monarch.
“We cannot accept this exclusion,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly. Sánchez said that not sending a diplomatic delegation to Sheinbaum’s inauguration is “a sign of protest against an exclusion that we consider unacceptable and inexplicable, given the level of relations between Spain and Mexico, two ‘brother’ countries.”
What did AMLO’s letter to King Felipe say?
In March 2019, President López Obrador sent letters to both King Felipe VI and to Pope Francis in relation to centuries-old events, as the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico’s independence in 1821 approached.
“We find ourselves in a moment when it is unavoidable to reflect on the events that decisively marked the history of our nations,” AMLO wrote near the top of the 4-page missive. “… The incursion led by Cortés … was of course a foundational event for today’s Mexican nation,” he continued, “… but [it was] tremendously violent, painful and transgressive.”
The president said “innumerable crimes” and “violations of the laws of the time” were committed during the conquest — and also the colonization — of what is now Mexico, and then clarified that while his government was not seeking reparations, it did ask for the Spanish state to “admit its historical responsibility for those offenses” and to offer an apology in order to begin “a new phase” of bilateral relations.
The Spanish government issued a statement “vigorously” rejecting the contents of AMLO’s letter and added that the 16th-century Spanish conquest “cannot be judged in light of contemporary considerations.”
The 2019 letter was not the only time AMLO took issue with the Spanish government. In February 2022, the president said he advocated a “pause” in relations between Mexico and Spain in response to disputes with Spanish companies over his administration’s energy policies.
At his Wednesday press conference this week, the president said that he was “supportive” of Sheinbaum’s decision not to invite the Spanish monarch to her inauguration.
“Not only was there no response,” he said regarding the 2019 letter. “They [the Spanish government] leaked the letter and set off a campaign against us, against the government of Mexico, and they acted with a lot of arrogance, never responding to a formal and respectful letter.”
Bárcena suggests “ceremony of amends” for Mexico and Spain
Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said on Friday there should be a “ceremony of amends” between the two countries to resolve their diplomatic differences, describing the bilateral relationship as one of “great political and economic dynamism.”
Spain was the second-largest foreign investor in Mexico in 2023 (after the United States), contributing just over 10% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico last year.
Who will be attending Sheinbaum’s inauguration
While there will not be a Spanish delegation in attendance at Sheinbaum’s historic swearing-in ceremony next Tuesday, representatives from 105 countries — including heads of state from Chile, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia and other Latin American countries — have confirmed, as well as those from several African nations.
The U.S. is sending a delegation led by first lady Dr. Jill Biden, and Canada will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
With reports from El País, El Economista, Reforma and Excélsior
