MEXICAN president Claudia Sheinbaum has invited King Felipe VI to the World Cup in Mexico.
The president made the offer on February 3, but it was only made public after the King acknowledged that there was ‘ethical controversy and abuse’ during the Spanish conquest of America.
The Spanish royal household posted Felipe’s words online.
They marked the first time that a Spanish monarch has publicly acknowledged abuses during Spain’s colonial era.
In her letter to the king, Sheinbaum wrote that the event would be ‘a propitious opportunity to evoke the depth and unique character of the ties between Mexico and Spain’, the Casa Real said.
In recent years, the Spanish colonisation of the Americas has become a controversial topic.
In 2019, Sheinbaum’s predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, demanded apologies from Spain for human rights violations during its conquest.
Due to the unanswered request, Sheinbaum took the decision not to invite King Felipe to her inauguration in 2024.
It has now emerged that, prior to the King’s informal comments, Sheinbaum had offered to repair the ties between Mexico and Spain that had been strained by the issue as the ties were ‘forged through a historical brotherhood and supported by the shared legacy of language, culture and collective memory’
The palace has ‘welcomed’ the invitation, but it’s not clear whether Felipe has agreed to attend the event that will be held from June 11 to July 19 in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
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