Mexico restores relations with Spain during the first presidential visit in eight years
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez convened in Barcelona on Saturday following a summit of progressive leaders.
The meeting, as reported by the Spanish state news agency EFE, occurred during Sheinbaum’s visit to Barcelona for a gathering of the global left, organized by the Spanish government.
Sheinbaum’s visit indicates a warming in the previously strained diplomatic relations between the countries and represents the first visit by a Mexican president to Spain since the ruling Morena party assumed power in 2018.
The divide originates from Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who sought an apology in 2019 for the abuses perpetrated by colonizers during Spain’s conquest of Mexico but did not obtain one.
“I consider President Sheinbaum’s presence here to be a significant and encouraging indication of improved relations between the two nations,” stated Spain’s economy minister to reporters at the summit, highlighting the necessity of enhancing trade and investment between the two economies, especially in the energy, infrastructure, and financial sectors.
