Mexican President Demands an Apology from Spain and the Pope for the Conquest of the Americas 500 Years Ago

Mexican president demands an apology from Spain and the Pope for the conquest of the Americas 500 years ago – which King Felipe ‘firmly’ rejects but calls for an open dialogue

Reuters and Adry Torres, Daily Mail, March 25, 2019

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has demanded an apology from Spain and the Vatican for wrongs committed against indigenous people during the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.

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‘I already sent a letter to the king of Spain and another letter to the Pope so that they ask forgiveness of indigenous peoples for violations of what are now known as human rights,’ he said.

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‘There were massacres and oppression,’ said López Obrador from the archaeological zone in the southeastern state of Tabasco. ‘The so-called conquest was carried out with the sword and the cross. They built their churches on top of the temples.’

While looking for a reconciliation with Spain, López Obrador said his government would be publicly apologizing for the abuses the indigenous people.

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‘López Obrador’s letter is an intolerable offence to the Spanish people,’ said Alberto Rivera, head of the center-right Ciudadanos party, in a tweet.

Pablo Casado, the head of Spain’s main center-right opposition party, said López Obrador’s statement was an ‘affront to Spain and its history’.

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According to the 2015 census, 26million Mexicans identify themselves as indigenous.

About 37.3million identify themselves as ‘mestizos’, known as a person of Spanish and indigenous descent.

Spain is one of Mexico’s biggest sources of foreign direct investment. The Mexican government has yet to ratify a new free trade deal reached with the European Union in April 2018.