Mexican president apologises to Indigenous for Spanish conquest
Marking the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec capital to Spain, President Lopez Obrador asks for forgiveness.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the capture of Tenochtitlan by Hernan Cortes's troops, in Mexico City, Mexico, August 13, 2021 [Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA-EFE]
13 Aug 2021
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has asked the country’s Indigenous Mexica Peoples for forgiveness for the abuses inflicted on them during the bloody 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire.
Lopez Obrador on Friday spoke in front of a large replica temple built to commemorate 500 years since the fall of the ancient Aztec capital Tenochtitlan to Hernan Cortes, the leader of the invading Spanish forces and the armies of his Indigenous allies.
Cortes and his allies defeated the Aztec leaders and the Mexica people who lived in Tenochtitlan, which later became Mexico City. They then looted and razed the city, ushering in three centuries of Spanish domination.
“Today we remember the fall of the great Tenochtitlan and we apologize to the victims of the catastrophe caused by the Spanish military occupation of Mesoamerica and the territory of the current Mexican Republic,” Lopez Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador has said the Spanish monarchy and Roman Catholic Church should formally apologise for the atrocities committed during the conquest.
More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/13/mexican-president-apologizes-to-indigenous-for-spanish-conquest