Diplomatic Rift: Mexico Snubs Spanish King Over Colonial Apology

A centuries-old conflict reignited as Mexico's incoming president chose not to invite the Spanish king to her inauguration after the monarch declined to apologize for colonial-era abuses. Spain's prime minister criticized the exclusion, and the diplomatic row clouds preparations for the inauguration in Mexico City.

A centuries-old conflict resurfaced Wednesday as Mexico's incoming president defended her decision to exclude the Spanish king from her inauguration. The omission came after the monarch failed to apologize for colonial-era abuses.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez denounced the snub as 'unacceptable' less than a week before President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum's Oct. 1 ceremony. In an unusual rebuke, Spain announced it would not send any representative to the event.

The diplomatic row threatens to overshadow Sheinbaum's inauguration in Mexico City, once the center of Spain's colonial empire. In a social media post, Sheinbaum explained only Sanchez was invited due to King Felipe VI's non-response to a 2019 letter from outgoing President Lopez Obrador seeking an apology for the conquest-era abuses.

Lopez Obrador's attempts to secure an apology from both the Spanish monarchy and Pope Francis for historical atrocities have been rebuffed. On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Sanchez reiterated Spain's protest over the exclusion.