President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo reported that yesterday in her meeting with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, she spoke about the relevance of an apology from the Crown of Spain for the abuses that occurred during the Conquest.
The head of the federal executive stated that, after raising the issue, the Spanish king proposed that a working group on indigenous peoples be established at the next Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Madrid in November.
She indicated that in this meeting it was agreed to send three Mexican exhibitions to Spain: on the arrival of Spanish Republican refugees to Mexico, on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and on Mayan culture.
"We talked about various topics: the first topic I raised was that of indigenous peoples, the original peoples, the importance that these peoples have for Mexico, and I spoke about why the request for forgiveness was relevant or is relevant to us beyond any disagreement there may be, and I explained the importance that fortunately 28 million Mexicans identify as indigenous, 69 languages spoken in Mexico, and how the recognition of the great civilizations, the great cultures, the cultural greatness of Mexico is linked before the arrival of the Spaniards with present-day Mexico.
"How the resistance of the peoples has been fundamental in the construction of today's Mexico, how the values of the original peoples have shaped Mexicans, how for years even after the Colony, indigenous peoples were discriminated against, and why the vindication of the peoples is important to us. I explained to him that for us it is a matter of identity, national identity, recognition, and a rejection of discrimination, racism, classism, no form of discrimination, and that is why it is a matter of dignity for Mexico."
At the National Palace, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that King Felipe VI listened attentively to the issue and proposed that there be a working group on indigenous peoples at the next Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Madrid next November.
"That he was interested, once we had talked about this topic, in continuing to work together going forward.
"There are three exhibitions that will go to Spain, we agreed on that, which had already been worked on previously with the Spanish government team. One on the Spanish Republic, the refugees of the Republic; another on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; and another on Mayan culture, the Mayan peoples, which will gradually go to Spain."
The federal president highlighted that the meeting was very cordial and noted that Felipe VI is a very simple person.
"It was a good, cordial meeting, and I repeat again that this meeting could not have taken place if there had not been, on the part of the Spanish government and the head of state of Spain, the king, at the time the vision of indigenous women and having recognized in his way, in his manner, abuses that occurred during the arrival of the Spaniards, during the so-called Conquest, and this was a gesture on their part that translated into the visit yesterday."
She indicated that after this meeting, the Spanish king traveled to Guadalajara, Jalisco, to be present at the match between Spain and Uruguay in the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
