In a letter dating back to March 1, 2019, the former president asked King Felipe VI to express “in a public and official manner the recognition of the grievances caused by the conquest,” a request still upheld by Sheinbaum’s administration.

“Apologizing makes people, nations and people great, and always improves relations,” said Sheinbaum during her usual press conference.

The head of state presented two videos on Wednesday, in one of which the President of the United States, Joe Biden, apologized for the federal policy of indigenous boarding schools, and another in which King Charles III of the United Kingdom recognized the existence of abuses in the colonial past.

“These two cases are important, interesting. That is, if King Charles and President Biden and many others that we showed in that video have apologized for atrocities of the past, why not Spain?” she asked.

Before her inauguration on October 1, Sheinbaum indicated that she did not invite King Felipe VI to her inauguration ceremony, because the monarch did not respond to López Obrador’s letter.

“Unfortunately, that letter did not receive any direct response, as would have corresponded to the best diplomatic practice of bilateral relations. Instead, part of the letter was leaked in the media,” she added.

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