President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico is calling on Spain to account for its treatment of indigenous peoples during the
so-called conquest of the 1500s.
Lopez Obrador recently sent a letter to the government of Spain and
followed up with a video on Tuesday explaining the need for an examination of their shared history. He said an apology was in order for "massacres" and other incidents that occurred nearly 500 years ago.
"The time has come to reconcile but first they should ask forgiveness," Lopez Obrador said at
Comalcalco, a Maya archaeological site.
But Spain already rejected the request, long before the video was posted, El Pais reported. A March 1 response to Mexico's letter dismissed the need for an apology and a senior official said as much during an overseas trip.
“It seems a little strange that apologies are being demanded now for things that happened 500 years ago” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said when asked about the issue in Argentina, The Associated Press reported. “In the same sense that we are not going to demand that France apologize for the actions of Napoleon’s soldiers when they invaded Spain."
Lopez Obrador also said he would be willing to apologize to indigenous peoples on behalf of Mexico as part of the reconciliation process.
Read More on the Story
Mexico president calls for truth commission on conquest
(The Associated Press March 26, 2019)
Mexico demands apology from Spain and the Vatican over conquest
(BBC March 26, 2019)
Borrell: "España no va a presentar disculpas a México ni a pedírselas a Francia por Napoleón" (El Mundo March 26, 2019)
Writers, historians react to Mexico’s demand for an apology from Spain (El Pais March 26, 2019)
Madrid rejects Mexico’s demand for an apology over Spanish conquest (El Pais March 26, 2019)
Cortés and Montezuma: the conquering of Tenochtitlan (History Extra March 26, 2019)
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