Felipe VI meets Sheinbaum in Mexico City, sealing diplomatic thaw ahead of Spain-Uruguay World Cup clash
Spain's King Felipe VI and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum held a brief but symbolic meeting at the National Palace on Thursday, drawing a line under years of tension over colonial-era grievances. The monarch's stop in the capital came before he heads to Guadalajara to watch Spain's World Cup opener against Uruguay.
The encounter marks the formal end of a prolonged diplomatic chill that began in 2019, when then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent a letter demanding the Spanish crown apologise for abuses committed during the conquest. Felipe VI did not reply, and the snub hardened into a policy distance that saw Sheinbaum, López Obrador's political heir, initially exclude the king from her own 2024 inauguration.
Steps toward reconciliation
In recent months, both sides moved to repair ties. The Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, and the economy minister, Carlos Cuerpo, each visited Mexico. Felipe VI, in March, made a carefully prepared remark at a Madrid museum exhibition on indigenous Mexican women, conceding there had been "mucho abuso" during the colonial period.
There was much abuse, and behaviours that, viewed from today's perspective and values, are not something to be proud of.
Sheinbaum, while maintaining Mexico's demand for recognition of indigenous peoples, described the king's words as a positive step and invited him to the World Cup match. The invitation, confirmed by the Royal Household, was framed as part of an "intensification of bilateral relations".
Thursday's encounter
The meeting at the National Palace lasted around an hour and was described by both sides as cordial. Sheinbaum used the opportunity to restate the importance of Mexico's pre-Columbian civilisations and today's indigenous communities.
We are always going to talk about original peoples, about their importance in Mexico throughout history, from before the Spanish arrived and now, and the value they represent for the country.
- Felipe VI acknowledges 'mucho abuso' during the conquest at a Madrid museum event.
- King and Mexican president meet at the National Palace in Mexico City.
- Felipe VI attends Spain vs Uruguay World Cup match in Guadalajara.
Security and the World Cup
Felipe VI's presence in Guadalajara comes just four months after the city was convulsed by violence following the killing of cartel boss Nemesio Oceguera, 'El Mencho'. Authorities have deployed over 50 personnel, including royal guards, municipal police and Mexican army units, to protect the monarch during his stay.
If the King of Spain is visiting Guadalajara, it is because we are a safe state. What happened in February had a global media impact, but the hardest thing has been to change that image.
The governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, stressed that Guadalajara has completed all the infrastructure upgrades required by FIFA, unlike Mexico City and Monterrey, where stadium works lagged.
Economic renewal
Beyond the symbolic gestures, the visit aims to reboot a commercial relationship worth €100 billion in mutual investment and €10 billion in annual goods trade. Carlos Cuerpo recently set targets to double trade and lift investment by 50 % within four years. Mexico, facing uncertainty over its trade relationship with the United States under Donald Trump, is also cultivating European ties, having renewed its trade agreement with the EU in May.
