Why is it important for Mexico to be at Pedro Sánchez's progressive summit?

MadridThis weekend in Barcelona there will be many photos, many summits, and a lot of media attention due to the presence of world leaders at the progressive gathering organized by the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez. But there will be one that is especially relevant and signifies a before and after in the diplomatic relationship between two countries: Spain and Mexico. After eight years of tension, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum will set foot in Spanish territory and will hold a "brief meeting" with Sánchez. There will be no governmental meeting, but the two leaders will be seen together and there will be a handshake.

Sheinbaum's presence in Spain is an important step in the resumption of relations, as the bond between the two countries was absolutely shattered at an official level when the State refused to apologize for its colonial past. This will take place in Catalonia, which is not foreign to the Mexican president's biography. Her first husband, Carlos Imaz Gispert, was the son of Spanish exiles with Basque and Catalan roots. Her mother was Montserrat Gispert, a Catalan scientist who grew up in Mexico following her family's exile from Franco's dictatorship in 1942.

¿What has happened between Spain and Mexico?

1977: the resumption of relations

With the resumption of relations, political dialogue began and an increase in economic exchanges. This is confirmed in his workExponential increase in political and economic ties

With the resumption of relations, political dialogue and an increase in economic exchanges began. This is confirmed in his work Mexico and Spain, 40 years of reunion by UNAM researcher Mario Ojeda, who states that between 1977 and 1981, economic and commercial exchanges between the two countries "multiplied by 26". Mexican exports to Spain went from 21 million dollars to 814 million, and Spanish exports to Mexico from 50 million to 369 million, making Spain Mexico's second largest customer and sixth largest supplier. However, these economic relations acquire a "paternalistic" tone on the part of Spain, in the words of Ojeda himself, and problems begin with the entry of Spanish companies into strategic sectors. In fact, over the years, the State becomes the second largest investor in Mexico after the United States, notes Luisa Treviño, a graduate in international relations from El Colegio de México and former diplomat.

In any case, during the first years, and especially since Felipe González came to the Spanish government, Treviño points out that the political relationship is very close. She situates an important date in 1992, when the Ibero-American Summit was consolidated in Mexico —the first had taken place a year earlier in the Aztec capital—. Mexico's presence at the conclave, explains the specialist, is very relevant for the rest of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking states because it is an indicator that it will be a collaboration of "brotherhood" and not one of control by the former powers.

López Obrador: the change

The rise to power of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who swept the 2018 presidential elections, changes everything. His political project is based on a recovery of memory, a vindication of indigenous peoples, and also a criticism of Spanish investments in Mexico, which he describes as "plunder". López Obrador openly criticizes Repsol, Iberdrola, and OHL, and promotes a policy of limiting private investors in strategic sectors. Within this breeding ground, the culmination of the rupture with Spain comes in 2019, when on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Hernán Cortés's arrival in Mexican territory and the fall of Tenochtitlan – in 2021, the original Aztec empire —, López Obrador asks Spain to apologize for the abuses committed during colonization. He proposes a meeting at the highest level to agree on a "shared narrative" about the past: "May the Kingdom of Spain publicly and officially express recognition of the grievances," the text stated. The letter, however, received no response, and this resulted in a suspension of diplomatic relations. To the point that after winning the elections, the new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, excluded King Felipe VI from the guests at her inauguration.

At the same time, Treviño enumerates, the gesture of King Felipe VI in the context of the exhibition has also been key. He corrected the gesture of the king.The turning point.

For all the aforementioned reasons, Sheinbaum's step this weekend is relevant. For Treviño, it is an "initiation of rapprochement" again between the two countries and it comes preceded by movements that Spain has previously made. He cites a first Princess of Asturias Award at the Anthropological Museum of Mexico in 2025 and also statements last year by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in which he spoke of the "injustice" of the colonial past. of the "injustice" of the colonial past. At the same time, enumerates Treviño, the gesture of King Felipe VI in the framework of the exhibition Half the World. Women in Indigenous Mexico, at the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid, has also been key. "There have been moral controversies about how power is exercised from the first day. The Catholic Monarchs, with their guidelines, had a desire for protection. Afterwards, reality means that it is not fulfilled as intended and there is much abuse," said Felipe VI, who has been invited to the Football World Cup that Mexico will host between June 11 and July 19.

Two key dates

In addition to Sheinbaum's presence this weekend in Barcelona, there are two more key dates in the future that will decide whether there is a total recovery or not of relations between Spain and Mexico. A meeting of the Ibero-American Summit is expected in Madrid on November 4 and 5. Will Claudia Sheinbaum participate? For now, she has not ruled it out, which would mark a before and after following the snub that López Obrador inaugurated in 2018. And the other key date will be in 2027, when 50 years will have passed since the resumption of relations in 1977. Will it be an anniversary that inaugurates a new cycle?