Mexico appreciates Felipe VI's words about the conquest of America

Barcelona / MadridHe Felipe VI's acknowledgment of the "abuses" in the conquest of America The monarch's remarks have been positively received by Mexico. Its president, Claudia Sheinbaum, stated at a press conference on Tuesday that these words represent "a gesture of rapprochement" from the Head of State, acknowledging "the excesses and exterminations that occurred during the arrival of the Spanish." She added that "this must be recognized, and we must continue to move forward with the dialogue," in a process that "requires further work." On the other hand, the monarch's statements have not been well received by Vox, as expected, and have also generated discomfort within the People's Party (PP). Both parties made this clear in their reactions on Tuesday to the monarch's words, with which he intended to make a gesture toward Mexico. He has been asking for an apology from Spain for years. because of its colonial past. Although neither the right nor the far right has sought a direct confrontation with the head of state, both parties have distanced themselves from his position and have reaffirmed "the pride of the Spanish legacy" in Latin America.

In the case of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo himself has made this clear. When asked on EsRadio about the monarch's remarks, the People's Party leader downplayed their significance, asserting that the king spoke in the context of an informal "conversation" and not in an "official statement or speech." But immediately afterward, he added: "To examine events from the 15th century in the 21st century is absurd." A few hours later, the Popular Party's spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, clarified that Feijóo had not criticized the King's statement and said that their words "perfectly match." According to Muñoz, the Popular Party "couldn't agree more" with Felipe VI's declarations, and she asserted that they had been taken out of context, because the King was precisely saying that "it's not advisable to engage in presentism," that is, "not to look at what happened in the 15th century with 21st-century eyes," which is "exactly the same thing Feijóo said." Felipe VI said that there are behaviors in Spain that, viewed through the lens of current values, are not something to be "proud of." For his part, Feijóo has indeed confessed to being "proud of the legacy" of the Spanish in America, stating that the Catholic Monarchs brought "human rights, universities, and hospitals" to the indigenous peoples and highlighting the "exceptional linguistic and cultural community" left by the conquest. The "abuses," the PP insists, were "individual acts" outside the legal framework established by the Crown, "which guaranteed the protection of the indigenous people." The Popular Party considers its interpretation to be "perfectly" aligned with that of the King.

"The main civilizing work"

To its right, Vox has reacted publicly with a staunch defense of the conquest: "The Spanish enterprise in America was the main evangelizing and civilizing work in universal history, and that was done by the Spanish Crown," stated the far-right spokesperson in Congress, Pepa Millán, at a press conference. Abascal's party also avoided engaging in a clash with Felipe VI, but presented a historical interpretation that directly contradicts the king's. Sources within Vox, however, believe that the monarch's words are explained by the intervention of Pedro Sánchez's government. "We already know how the government uses the Crown," these sources say. And they assert that no matter what is said, "the [historical] truth is irrefutable." From the far-right party, as well as from the PP, reinterpret history and they ignore the violence perpetrated by Spanish colonizers against indigenous communities, the high mortality rate they suffered as a result of epidemics imported from Europe, and the deaths caused by the slave trade.

For Abascal's supporters, the king's words are nothing more than a demonstration of kidnapping of the monarch by the PSOE executiveThis is a theory that the far right has long been brandishing. MEP Hermann Tertsch was quite explicit on this point a few hours ago. "We are astounded," he stated in X. "Many of us do not understand his formal and almost habitual adherence to the arguments of those who only seek to do harm and show contempt for the history of Spain and the present of Spaniards," he added in a message addressed to the king, in which he defined the conquest as a "civilizing miracle full of generosity" and "service" to both Spaniards and the indigenous peoples.

"Insufficient" words

In contrast to the PP and Vox, members of the investiture majority have also questioned Felipe VI's words, but in this case because they feel they fall short. The BNG spokesperson in Congress, Néstor Rego, for example, asserted that the statements are "late" and "insufficient." The leader of Podemos, Ione Belarra, opined that they "do not measure up" to what Spain should do to "recognize human rights violations." Sumar, despite considering them "insufficient," welcomed the words, and the PSOE deemed them "very reasonable."