The decision of the Mexican government not to invite the King Philip VI The inauguration of the new president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, marks an unprecedented event in the relationship that Spain and the Crown have maintained with the countries of Latin America and in the representation of the monarch at the investitures of leaders.
In response, Pedro Sánchez’s executive has decided not to participate at any level in the handover ceremony, which will take place on October 1 at the headquarters MexicoThe Foreign Ministry issued a statement last night in which it considered the attitude of the Mexican government to be “unacceptable”.
The Constitution reserves the monarch the highest representation of the Spanish State on the international scene. Since he became head of state ten years ago, Felipe VI has attended 17 inaugurations. The first was precisely that of López Obrador in December 2018his last trip to Mexicoand the most recent, in Dominican Republic on August 16th.
Disagreements
In 2018, López Obrador thanked the king for his presence in the Mexican capital at the beginning of his term “for the ties that unite” the two countries and Congress applauded the king after receiving the president’s message.
But just four months later, bilateral relations cooled when the then Mexican president demanded in a letter that Spain apologize and admit “its historical responsibility” for the “massacres” committed during the conquest five centuries ago and after Mexico’s independence in 1821.
Felipe VI, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his wife Beatriz Gutiérrez in Mexico in 2018.
Efe
Even Pope Francis I came to support López Obrador’s position, insisting that Spain should apologize to Mexico for the abuses committed during the conquest.
The Spanish government, already chaired by Pedro Sánchez, issued a statement in which it deeply regrets that the letter was made public in the media and “firmly” rejects its content.
Since the diplomatic incident broke out, Felipe VI has made no reference to López Obrador’s request for pardon and has limited himself to highlighting the ties that unite Spain with the Ibero-American countries.
Repsol
The other controversial front in relations between Spain and the government of López Obrador has been the presence of Spanish companies in the country, particularly the energy company Repsol, which he accused in June 2019 of profiting from tenders awarded by the Mexican government. 2003. “He doesn’t pay me Repsol“The Mexicans pay me,” he said then.
However, the new president of Mexico, who will be the new president of Mexico on October 1, said at the end of July that she agreed that there should be a request for forgiveness from Spain for “the Spanish conquest” that left “many massacres and violence”, even though he insisted on maintaining bilateral relations.
Sheinbaum announced that he would respond by letter to the Spanish government and, in statements to the press, he promised: “Tomorrow I will explain to you why he has his ‘joke’. Tomorrow morning (…) there is no problem.”
