The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, assured this Saturday that there "never was" a diplomatic crisis with Spain following the request for an apology for the Conquest, underlining that, for her Government, the essential thing is to highlight "the strength of the original peoples" in the history of Mexico.
Upon his arrival at the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, and in brief statements to the media, he referred to the frictions between Spain and Mexico that arose after the letter sent by the then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador to King Felipe VI, in which he demanded an apology for the excesses committed during the Conquest of America in the 16th century.
Asked if she considers the disagreement with Spain overcome, Sheinbaum stated that "There is no diplomatic crisis. There never has been. What is very important is that the strength of the indigenous peoples for our homeland is recognized".
It is Sheinbaum's first trip to Europe since she took office as President, in a context marked by several gestures of détente between Madrid and Mexico City: first, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and then by the King, who recently admitted that there was "a lot of abuse" after the arrival of the Spaniards on the American continent.
Summit in Mexico
During her speech at the summit, the Mexican leader proposed that the next Meeting in Defense of Democracy be held in Mexico and that its focus be "the economy centered on well-being and on a democracy that responds to the true needs of the people". The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, took up the challenge in his speech and thanked her for the invitation, suggesting working on a date for 2027.
In her address, Sheinbaum has made a defense of democracy and has maintained that it implies "elevating love above hate, cultivating generosity instead of greed, fraternity above war".
In this regard, he has vindicated Mexico's historical stance in favor of "the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the rejection of the use of force, the juridical equality of states," as well as international cooperation and respect for human rights. In his opinion, in a global scenario marked by warlike conflicts, these democratic principles continue to be a relevant contribution from his country.
Cuba
Sheinbaum has remarked that "Democracy implies freedom, but freedom is an empty word if it is not accompanied by social justice, sovereignty, and the dignity of peoples. When we talk about democracy, it is not the democracy of the elites. It is not the democracy of the concentration of wealth, but that of distribution".
The president has brought up her initiative before the G20 to allocate 10% of global military spending to a large international reforestation program of millions of hectares of forest across the planet. Furthermore, she has advanced her intention to promote "a declaration against military intervention in Cuba, so that dialogue and peace prevail".