A match that sealed diplomatic peace
The Soccer World Cup was the stage to resolve a conflict that lasted seven years. King Felipe VI of Spain traveled to Guadalajara to watch the Spain-Uruguay match and took the opportunity to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum. For an hour they talked and considered the discrepancies that began in 2019, when Mexico demanded a real apology for the Conquest, overcome.
“Felipe, thank you for coming,” said Miguel Campos, a 41-year-old Spanish bank employee who was attending the game. He considered the controversy “more politicking and making media noise than what people feel.”
“There is no hatred towards Spain and I believe that Mexicans and Spaniards are half cousins-brothers,” he explained while waving a Spanish flag.
Sergio Astorga, a Mexican waiter, agreed: “It was a lack of communication because (the unity between) Mexicans and Spaniards is part of us.”
The gesture that changed everything
The public apology never occurred, but the monarch acknowledged last March “moral and ethical controversies” during the conquest at an exhibition in Madrid. Two days later, Sheinbaum’s invitation to the World Cup was confirmed. “It was a matter of dignity for the people of Mexico,” the president said on Friday, and stressed that without those words from the king the rapprochement would not have been possible.
Sheinbaum sought to be consistent with the position of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who sent the letter demanding an apology and put relations on “pause” in 2022. She did not invite Felipe VI to her investiture in 2024.
Pragmatism and geopolitics
The commercial, cultural and social ties between both countries are key. In an uncertain global context and with Donald Trump’s administration applying unilateral and anti-immigration policies, strengthening the relationship was necessary. Sheinbaum attended a meeting of progressive leaders in Barcelona where a message of unity against Trump was sent.
On Thursday, Felipe VI and Sheinbaum spoke about trade, the economy and “the situation in the world, how it is important to recognize the Charter of the United Nations,” according to the president, who described the king as “a very simple person.”
Other royals in the World Cup
Felipe VI was not the only member of royalty in Mexico. Princess Hisako of Takamado of Japan visited Monterrey to see her team. And King Willem-Alexander and Máxima of the Netherlands were in Houston and Kansas City supporting Holland and Curacao, which was making its debut in a World Cup.
