The Spanish government "categorically rejects" the statements of the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, against the King, Spanish companies installed in his country and "political sectors of Spain".
In a statement released this Friday night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects the words of López Obrador and stresses that "they are incomprehensible" after the meeting held on Thursday in Mexico by the Binational Commission, in which ministers from both governments participated. and several agreements were signed.
"Spain will always favor the strengthening of human, cultural, economic and educational fraternal ties between our two brother countries", concludes the brief statement.
In his press conference this Friday, the Mexican president has attacked King Felipe VI, the Government of Pedro Sánchez and the "looting" that Spanish companies are supposedly carrying out.
Bilateral relations, he has assured, "continue on pause because there has not been an attitude of respect on their [the Spanish] side."
02:59
AMLO reaffirms pause in relation to Spain
Pedro Sánchez holds a meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at the National Palace in Mexico City, on January 30, 2019. Photo: GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC
López Obrador has complained that the King did not respond to the letters in which he asked Spain to apologize for the abuses committed during the conquest of Mexico and has accused him of "arrogance".
"He did not even have the attention to answer me," he lamented.
In contrast, he has stressed that Pope Francis responded to all the letters that he sent him in 2019, although "we do not necessarily agree, now we agree more."
On the other hand, the Spanish authorities "come out with that we have to thank them for coming to civilize us", he added.
For the "pause" in bilateral relations, the Mexican president has asked Spain for "self-criticism" about the "abuses" committed in the colonial past and that companies "do not come to promote corruption."
"No Spanish company is prevented from coming to do legal business in Mexico, what we don't want is for them to see us as a land of conquest," he concluded.
López Obrador's statements came a day after the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, led an official visit to Mexico and announced, together with his Mexican counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, a relaunch of bilateral relations.
"It is impossible to pause relations between Spain and Mexico because it is impossible to pause relations between two brothers," Albares said.
On Thursday, both governments boasted that their ties are in "excellent health" and announced that the Binational Commission, with the participation of several ministers from the two governments, which had not met for seven years, would do so again in Madrid in 2024.
After criticizing the Monarchy, López Obrador has also criticized President Pedro Sánchez, without citing him.
"We have a lot of affection and appreciation for the Spanish people, this is different," he pointed out.
"It is a lot of people for so little government," he added.
Despite charging against the Spanish government, the Mexican president has saved the two parties that make it up, PSOE and Podemos, from his criticism.
"The progressive democratic movements of Spain are exceptional people, very intelligent, very supportive," he said.
"There is a new thought in Spain that has to do with Podemos, that has to do even with the PSOE and regional parties," he added.
López Obrador has made these statements in response to a question about the residence permits that Spain has granted to former presidents Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto, his last two predecessors in power, and the nationality of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who ruled Mexico from 1988 to 1994. "Spain can give a visa to any citizen," he acknowledged.
However, he has insinuated that the granting of the visas was in payment for the "privileges" that various Spanish companies received during his tenure.
"They made a killing", he has assured about companies such as Repsol, Iberdrola and OHL.
Questioned by EL PAÍS about the visas for Calderón and Peña Nieto, Albares said at a press conference at the Mexican Foreign Ministry that Spain's decision was purely administrative and that it was not political or "discretionary."
“They have made a residency application like thousands of people do every year,” he said.
"The authorities neither prejudge nor fail to prejudge a situation," added the diplomat.
The most controversial case in Mexico is that of Peña Nieto.
In August, the Attorney General's Office announced three open investigations against the former president for money laundering, illicit enrichment, and irregular transfers abroad.
Calderón obtained residence in Spain thanks to the support of the foundation of former president José María Aznar, which has sponsored him with a contract as a teacher.
"It's normal," López Obrado has ironized, who accuses Aznar of promoting "structural reforms" or neoliberals in Latin America.
Aznar ridiculed in September last year the Mexican government's request for an apology about the conquest.
"But you, what's your name?" The former leader of the Popular Party then snapped.
“Andrés from the Aztecs, Manuel from the Mayans, López is a mix of Aztecs and Mayans… And Obrador, from Santander,” he said.
The tone of the statements by the President of Mexico clashes with the conciliatory atmosphere that prevailed on Thursday.
Last February, López Obrador made the first reference to a "pause" in bilateral relations for similar reasons.
From that moment on, Ebrard and Albares worked together to settle any misunderstanding.
The Spanish minister even traveled to Mexico in March and assured that relations were going to "accelerate", in clear response to the statements of the Latin American president.
This week's meeting also involved months of diplomatic work.
“It has been a great success,” said Ebrard, after the thirteenth edition of the Mexico-Spain Binational Commission, on Thursday.
The Foreign Minister even spoke that López Obrador had given his approval to start a new diplomatic stage and that he had "authorized" the meeting to take place: "He was very pleased that it took place."
In a sudden change, when all the differences seemed resolved, the president has reignited a new controversy with Spain.
subscribe here
to the
EL PAÍS Mexico
newsletter