A Mayan archaeological site in Xpujil, Mexico, March 2, 2021. – Benedicte Desrus / Sipa USA / SIPA
Mexico and Guatemala have decided to face their history. The Mexican government officially apologized to the indigenous Mayan people on Monday for the wrongs committed against them since the Spanish conquest.
These apologies, which coincide with the 500 years of the Conquista, that is to say the conquest of Mexico, were formulated at the initiative of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, and his counterpart from Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
Government recognizes racism against the Mayans
“We apologize to the Mayan people for the terrible abuses committed by individuals and national and foreign powers during the Conquest, the three centuries of colonial domination and the two centuries of independent Mexico”, declared the Mexican president, referring in particular to the Caste war in the 19th century. This conflict corresponds to an uprising of the enslaved Mayans in Yucatan, which began in 1847 and ended in 1901, with indigenous Mayans opposing the white and mestizo population. During the ceremony, the Mexican government recognized the racism and discrimination that this ethnic minority still suffers from two centuries after the country’s independence.
The construction of the Mayan Train, a flagship project of the current Mexican government, was mentioned during the ceremony and drew hoots from residents. In June 2020, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador gave the green light to the construction of the 1,500-kilometer Mayan Train line scheduled to cross different parts of the Yucatan peninsula, where the resort of Cancun is located. Several organizations reject the project, claiming that it will cause damage to the environment and to several indigenous communities in this region.