Nations are social constructs, or imagined communities if you prefer more evocative terminology. These political structures are based on founding myths and are formed from a complex network of pre-existing communities, cultures and concrete histories. The “invention” of a nation is an ongoing process, the success of which depends on a narrative capable of permeating the entire social body, often introduced through coercion and direct violence. It is precisely for this reason that identity tensions between nations are so complex and difficult to address.
In this context, the request of the former president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to the Spanish Royal House, asking it to apologize for the grievances caused by the Spanish Empire, must be interpreted as part of the construction of a new Mexican identity. . This identity is characterized, among other aspects, by having carried out a critical revision of its colonial past and the consequences that this entailed for Mexican society. An exercise that was carried out by many Latin American societies in the last century and that their progressive governments have particularly encouraged in recent decades.
