Mexico's Sheinbaum denies 'diplomatic crisis' with Spain after conquest row

Spanish conquistadors killed thousands through fighting and disease as they dismantled the Aztec empire in the 16th Century.When López Obrador's request went unanswered, Sheinbaum took the unusual decision not to invite Spain's King Felipe VI to her inauguration in 2024. Spain then refused to send any Spanish representative. Recently, there were signs that relations had begun to thaw, though.King Felipe said in March that there had been "a lot of abuse" during the conquest of the territory that would become Mexico."There are things that, when we study them, with our present-day criteria, our values, obviously cannot make us feel proud," he had said while visiting an exhibition on indigenous Mexican women in Madrid.King Felipe's words marked the first time a Spanish monarch had publicly acknowledged abuses during the country's colonial era.It then emerged that, a month prior, Sheinbaum had invited him to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.She said that the sporting event - being hosted jointly with the US and Canada - would provide "a timely opportunity to evoke the depth and unique character of the ties between Mexico and Spain", according to the Spanish royal palace.Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares won plaudits from Sheinbaum last October when he said there had been "pain and injustice" in the countries' shared history.EPASaturday's summit in Spain was the fourth meeting of the In Defence of Democracy initiative, which aims to counter extremism and illiberalism."Democracy cannot be taken for granted," Sánchez said."We are witnessing attacks on the multilateral system, one attempt after another to challenge the rules of international law, and a dangerous normalisation of the use of force."His co-chair, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said the UN Security Council was not working and that its five permanent members - the US, China, Russia, France and the UK - all of whom hold veto power, had become "lords of war". "No president of any country in the world, however powerful, has the right to keep imposing rules on other countries," Lula said. Meanwhile, in Milan, thousands of supporters of the Patriots for Europe party, a right-wing grouping in the European Parliament, gathered for a rally.