International desk, Sep 25 (EFE).- Pedro S\u00e1nchez, the president of the Spanish government, said on Wednesday that the Mexican government’s decision not to invite King Felipe VI to the inauguration of president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum was “unacceptable” and “inexplicable.” <\/p>
Spain announced on Tuesday night that it would not be sending a representative to Sheinbaum’s inauguration on Oct. 1 because its head of state, King Felipe VI, was not invited to the event. <\/p>
Sheinbaum issued a statement on Wednesday morning explaining that the monarch was not invited because he did not respond to a 2019 letter from the current president, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, asking him to apologize for Spain’s conquest of the Americas.<\/p>
“Unfortunately this letter did not merit a direct response (from Spain), as would have been the best diplomatic practice in bilateral relations. Instead, part of the letter was leaked to the media,” Sheinbaum said.<\/p>
On Mar. 1, 2019, on the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s independence, L\u00f3pez Obrador sent a letter to the Spanish monarch asking him to “publicly and officially express the recognition of the grievances caused by the conquest of the Americas.”<\/p>
When questioned by the press, Sheinbaum rejected the idea that the rift was a severing of ties with Spain.<\/p>
“No, of course, but we need respect,” she said, assuring that her communiqu\u00e9 had been “enough.”<\/p>
In the statement, Sheinbaum said that “Mexico and Spain share a solid friendship, with important economic, tourist and cultural ties,” but insisted on the legitimacy of Mexico’s request.<\/p>
“Our relations would benefit from a renewed historical perspective, in line with the evolution of our peoples and with the full recognition of our identities as the basis of a respectful, solid, and fruitful relationship,” the statement said.<\/p>
Sheinbaum’s position was supported by L\u00f3pez Obrador, who during Wednesday’s morning conference called on Spain to stop its “arrogance and presumption” and apologize.<\/p>
The inauguration’s guest list had already been the subject of controversy due to the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. EFE <\/p>
int-ics\/mcd<\/p>
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"