Spain acknowledges for the first time the "injustice" of the colonial past, and Mexico values it as a "first step".

BarcelonaSpain's first significant shift in its narrative regarding its colonial past. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares acknowledged the "contrasts" in history this Friday, admitting that "there has been pain and injustice towards the indigenous peoples." He made these remarks in Madrid during the opening of an exhibition entitled Women in Indigenous MexicoThis allows us to read these words as an attempt to reach out to the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, who since the beginning of her term He has repeatedly insisted that Spain must apologize for the excesses committed during colonization.Sheinbaum herself responded to the minister, assuring him that today's declaration is "very important" and calling it a "first step."

Although requests for apologies have been constant over the past year since Sheinbaum's arrival to the Mexican presidency, Mexico has been requesting a formal apology from Spain for much longer. Andrés Manuel López Obrador made the request in 2019 in a letter to King Felipe VI. In the letter, the then-Mexican president proposed that the State work on a roadmap to hold a joint ceremony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence, in which Spain would "publicly and officially express its recognition of the wrongs committed." He also urged them to "agree upon and draft a shared narrative" of their common history that would reflect the "principles that currently guide" both states.

Although López Obrador considered "reconciliation" with the past "of fundamental importance" for Mexico, the letter received no response from the monarch. Furthermore, the Spanish government, led by Pedro Sánchez, "firmly" rejected its contents. Finally, the Mexican state held a solitary ceremony in which it apologized to the indigenous peoples for having perpetuated "aggression, discrimination, and plunder" against their communities after achieving independence.

Later, in 2022, the Mexican president announced a "diplomatic pause" in relations with Spain. This was the last significant point of friction with Spain over the colonial past. The clash between the two states on this issue then faded into the background until just over a year ago, in September 2024, when the current Latin American president, Claudia Sheinbaum, decided not to invite Felipe VI to her inauguration as a protest against his failure to respond to López Obrador's letter. Sánchez considered this move "inexplicable" and, although he was invited, decided not to attend.

Signs of rapprochement

It is in this context that Albares's words this Friday represent a significant development. Although he did not explicitly apologize, the minister urged people not to "forget" the past: "There was injustice, and it is only right to acknowledge and regret it. This is part of our shared history; we cannot deny or forget it," the Foreign Minister stated. In response to these statements, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, rejected Mexico's request: "I will not be ashamed of my country's history," he asserted in a message to X. "This is the first time that a Spanish government official has spoken of regretting the injustice," said the Mexican president, who pointed out that this gesture speaks to the "importance" of the apology she advocates. An apology that, for López Obrador's successor as head of Mexico, "is not humiliating, quite the contrary."

In recent months, Spain has made some cultural moves that can also be interpreted as signs of rapprochement. To give a recent example, the exhibition that Albares inaugurated today was organized jointly by the Spanish and Mexican governments and deals precisely with the reality of women from Mexico's indigenous communities. Furthermore, a week ago, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico and Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide received two Princess of Asturias Awards. In June, when the decision to award the museum was announced, Sheinbaum interpreted it as a "first step" and a "gesture from the Spanish Crown." "I hope they continue in this process of full recognition," the Mexican president said at the time. Today's words, for Sheinbaum, are no longer a "small step," but a "first step" that is "very important."