Mexico demands Spain apologize for colonial abuse of indigenous people

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse


In letter to Spanish king, President Obrador cites massacres and oppression during conquest of Mexico

AFP in Mexico City
Mon 25 Mar 2019 18.07 EDT Last modified on Mon 25 Mar 2019 21.55 EDT

Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has written to Spanish King Felipe VI and Pope Francis urging them to apologize for the “abuses” of colonialism and the conquest.

In a video filmed at the ruins of the indigenous city of Comalcalco, in southern Mexico, the anti-establishment leftist called on Spain and the Vatican to recognize the rights violations committed during the conquest of Mexico, which began 500 years ago, and the colonial period that followed.

“I have sent a letter to the king of Spain and another to the pope calling for a full account of the abuses and urging them to apologize to the indigenous peoples (of Mexico) for the violations of what we now call their human rights,” Lopez Obrador, 65, said in the video, which he posted to his social media accounts.

“There were massacres and oppression. The so-called conquest was waged with the sword and the cross. They built their churches on top of the (indigenous) temples,” he said.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/25/mexico-demands-spain-apology-colonialism-obrador

[sandensea]

1. That's why these medieval royals prefer butt kissers like Argentina's Macri (pardon my French)

The guy actually apologized to King Juan Carlos for Argentina's independence movement - on his country's own Bicentennial.

As it happens, Felipe and the ever-pleasant Letizia are in Buenos Aires schmoozing with him right now.

When their plane landed, the fancy, imported stairway ramp Macri ordered just for the occasion (amid an economic collapse), wouldn't fit on the plane.

They had to use the trusty old, Argentine-made ramp instead - purchased when Cristina Kirchner was in office.

An unwitting but accurate metaphor for what the country has been through these last 4 years.

Thanks for posting these news, Judi. Good to see someone in the region still has some self-respect.

[Judi Lynn]

4. The special suck-up ramp Macri ordered must have been hilarious! Expensive, too.

What a shame they would have had to rely upon a ramp purchased by a President who could keep things in perspective!

Apologizing for an independence movement by Argentina's citizens? Not a great idea. Surely he had other things he could have yammered on about! He betrayed Argentina's citizens hoping to impress Juan Carlos. That was impressive, all right.

It's enjoyable relishing the thought of trying to apply that zippy new ramp to the King's Royal Airline and failing. It's a shame they had a back-up, it would have been great seeing them send Felipe and Letizia out the emergency door!

Hope someone has a video which can be used for the upcoming campaign against Macri showing him blubbering his apologies for the independence movement in Argentina.

[sandensea]

5. That's an idea. I hope one or more of the opposition candidates can remind voters of that.

Here he is (July 9, 2016, in the city of Tucumán, where independence was signed):

It's a meandering speech, as if his teleprompter didn't work properly.

"We're here in this...historic Tucumán House - because this is where our history started ." (not really true)

"This is where a group of citizens dared to dream." (colonial subjects, not citizens)

"And today we're all...organized with the governors, committing ourselves to future goals, and trying to think and feel what they were feeling at that moment: clearly, they must have felt anguish at taking the decision, dear king, to separate from Spain."

When Trump ad libs, at least he's actually funny at times. This was just sad - and during the Bicentennial no less.

And so it's been in the 3 years since, Judi.

Thanks again for your ideas and good cheer. Hope springtime is coming along nicely where you are (it's just starting to here).

[Judi Lynn]

6. Never saw him giving a speech before this. He doesn't exactly exude charm, does he?

Whoever came up with that stroke of genius "they must have felt anguish" must have been wildly disoriented, maybe running a high fever, with malaria, when someone asked him/her to write the speech. Couldn't get much stranger than that!

Trump is funny when he thinks he'll "wing it" during his speeches. When he thinks he's really "hot," has them eating out of his tiny "hands" he has entered pure Twilight Zone time, and you can never predict how horrifying he's going to get before he's finished.

Macri did appear, at least, to pretend he believe he isn't the most important being in the world. Trump is certain there has never been anyone more important than he is. That is a distinction, isn't it?

Of course Macri is super slick at running his operations behind the public's back, and people not finding out hideous things have happened until it's most clearly far too late. He does have skills Trump can't even imagine....

Trying to hold the images of both fascists in mind at the same time could give a person a migraine, couldn't it?
Two really dangerous people who slimed into office in roughly the same time frame, are both doing their countries a huge disservice.

Spring time? After such a crazy winter we are owed a beautiful spring!

Always so ready to read your new information on Argentina, etc., as we learned so long ago, our corporate media just doesn't bother to inform us on the Americas, no matter how important, unless there is something going on which can be spun to serve US interests immediately.

Your comments are invaluable. Thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

2. MEXICO ASKED SPAIN TO APOLOGIZE FOR ITS CONQUEST. SPAIN SAID NO.

MEXICO ASKED SPAIN TO APOLOGIZE FOR ITS CONQUEST. SPAIN SAID NO.

The Spanish government rejected the Mexican president's demand, suggesting Spain's invasion of the Americas shouldn't be judged through our modern lens.

JACK HERRERA 1 HOUR AGO

. . .

In a video released on social media on Monday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico's president, stood next to his wife in front of the ruins of a Mayan pyramid in Tabasco, one of the country's southernmost states. Speaking to the camera, AMLO (as he is known in Mexico) explained that he and his wife had come to Centla—the Maya city whose ruins they stood among—to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the the battle the Chontal Maya fought against the forces of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

. . .

The Spanish government profoundly regrets the publication of the Mexican president's letter to his majesty the king on March 1st and completely rejects its content. The arrival of the Spanish on Mexican soil 500 years ago cannot be judged in the light of contemporary considerations. Our closely related peoples have always known how to view our shared history without anger and from a shared perspective, as free peoples with a common heritage and an extraordinary future.

This November will mark the 500th anniversary of the day the Aztec king Montezuma invited Cortés and his soldiers into Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital which was—with a population of 200,000—one of the largest metropolises in the world at the time. Though the Aztec greeted Cortés peacefully, the conquistador went on to besiege the city for 75 days, causing a famine that decimated the population. Cortés went on to level Tenochtitlán and begin building the Spanish colonial seat that would become Mexico City.

After seizing control of the Aztec empire, the Spaniards quickly conquered the rest of what is modern-day Mexico, establishing an iron-fisted rule by 1525. Seeking to extract gold and other resources from their new colony, the Spaniards created the encomienda system, which was, in essence, a way of organizing plantation-style slavery to force indigenous people to labor in the mines and fields. For generations, indigenous people who survived the plague of European diseases worked as slaves, as the Spanish missionaries forced them to adopt Christianity and abandon many of their native customs.

More:
https://psmag.com/news/mexico-asked-spain-to-apologize-for-its-conquest-spain-said-no

[ansible]

7. What Spain did to the New World should be considered the worst war crimes in history

The destruction of 3 entire civilizations(aztecs, maya and inca), untold millions wiped out by war, slavery and diseases and instituting the cancerous spanish culture of extreme corruption and catholicism...it's just absolutely disgusting in every single way. Latin America is still very much affected by the hundreds of years of Spain's influence to this day.

[ck4829]

8. K&R