The US Congress passed two formal resolutions in 2008 (the House of Representatives) and 2009 (the Senate) apologizing to African Americans for slavery and racial segregation. In 2022, Belgium also apologized in the Congo for colonial abuses. Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom have also made similar gestures. In contrast, in Spain, every step in that direction infuriates the right wing. This is precisely what happened after King Felipe VI said on Monday, at the opening of an exhibition on indigenous women in Mexico, that during colonization there was "much abuse" and "ethical controversies." In response to these words, the leader of the People's Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, called it "nonsense" to pass judgment on what happened in the 15th century. And Vox spokesperson Pepa Millán asserted that the colonization of America is "the principal evangelizing and civilizing work in universal history" and that the rights of the "subjects" were always respected. Feijóo's words demonstrate a complete lack of empathy for the peoples of the American continent, where the legacy of colonialism is still visible today. And Millán's are simply false and lack the slightest historical rigor. However, both harbor the outdated vision of Spanish national Catholicism and an undisguised Western supremacism, which considers the indigenous peoples of America to have been culturally inferior and in need of being "civilized" by Europeans.

On November 4th, a drunken, clumsy man assaulted Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, during a walk through the capital. The president filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office to set an example that this type of behavior is more than unacceptable: "It's a crime, and if I don't file a complaint, what becomes of all Mexican women?" In a press conference, Sheinbaum proposed reviewing whether sexual harassment in public spaces should be considered a criminal offense. It seems that important women—and here she uses "important" to clarify that they not only wield power but also symbolically embody a series of shared values, such as freedom and mutual respect—must confront this type of violence far too often.

Spain'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."

"Forgiveness magnifies both the one who offers it and the one who grants it." These were the words of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in February of this year. She was referring to the pardon that Mexico has formally demanded from Spain since 2019 for its colonial past and for the excesses committed during the conquest of the Americas. This request for an apology sparked a clash with the Spanish royal family and government a year ago, when Sheinbaum failed to invite King Felipe VI to her inauguration after the monarch failed to respond. a letter from his predecessorAndrés Manuel López Obrador, asking for this pardon. The Spanish government dodged this request and, considering it "inexplicable" that the monarch was not invited, did not attend the event despite having been invited. A year later, and after the Mexican president reiterated several times that an apology was needed, the Spanish government, when questioned by the ARA on the matter, avoided commenting, and Sumar, the minority partner, limited itself to showing "the utmost respect and sensitivity to the demands for historical memory" of Latin American states.