Overview
- José Manuel Albares made the remarks in Madrid at the opening of the exhibition La mitad del mundo, saying the shared history has "claroscuros" and that it is right to recognize and lament past wrongs.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum welcomed the comment as unprecedented from a Spanish government official and reiterated that her government still seeks an explicit state apology.
- The jointly organized exhibition features about 435 works across four venues—the Instituto Cervantes, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and Casa de México—and runs into March 2026.
- The exchange follows a 2019 letter from then‑president Andrés Manuel López Obrador asking Spain for an apology over Conquest‑era abuses, a request that strained bilateral ties and led to not inviting King Felipe VI to Sheinbaum’s 2024 inauguration.
- Albares framed the show as part of a path of justice and reconciliation and highlighted deep cultural, economic and human ties, including Spain’s gratitude for Mexico’s reception of Republican exiles.