The indigenous groups have described López Obrador's letter to the king of Spain as "simulation"

The Mexican indigenous movement is asking President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico to "respect the rights" of indigenous peoples and "do not wash your hands" apologizing to Spain for the conquest, said Thursday to Efe an indigenous spokeswoman.

Betina Cruz, member of the Council of Indigenous Government (IGC), denounced the fact that the current Spanish conquest of Mexico is "a great violation of human rights" but warned that indigenous peoples continue to suffer abuses from the Mexican state.

"That López Obrador does not wash his hands with the excuses of others"Cruz said in reference to the letter that the Mexican President sent March 1 to King Felipe VI of Spain and Pope Francis demanding that they ask forgiveness for the abuses of conquest.

This indigenous woman from the state of Oaxaca, in the south of the country, said that Lopez Obrador's proposal, announced this week, "It's a simulation that does not help."

And he said that "Instead of apologizing to a king, he must respect the self-determination of indigenous peoples."

For her, it is insufficient "Excuses and nothing more"because the grievances of the conquest began 500 years ago and "they continue to perpetuate themselves today" under the Mexican state.

"We do not want to apologize for what happened but for what continues to happen. The remedy is that they recognize our rights in Mexico and that the violence and the dispossession of our lands are not perpetuated, "he asked the president.

Cruz, who is part of the executive body of the National Aboriginal Congress, which brings together communities across the country, denounced that in the region of Oaxaca Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 25 wind farms were built without consulting the indigenous peoples.

"A shit (a lot) of the companies that operate there are Spanishsaid Cruz, who cited as an example the fact that the Mexican government continues to authorize the steal land from indigenous communities and sell it to foreign interests.

For this reason, he warned López Obrador that "you have in your hands to restore this historic debt" with the natives.

López Obrador has been criticized for promoting the construction of the Mayan train, a job that must cross the south-east of the country without prior consultation, free and informed to the natives, in accordance with the requirements of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Cruz said that these consultations these are processes that can last for years, while the current government intends to approve infrastructure projects with consultation of One day, they make fun of communities.

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), linked to the National Congress of Indigenous Peoples, has already announced a "disappointment" after the victory of the leftist party Lopez Obrador in the legislative elections of July 1st.

"The foreman, mayordomos and corporals may change, but the finquero remains the same", said the former guerrillas in a letter signed by Sub-Commander Galeano (formerly Sub-Commander Marcos) and Sub-Commander Mande.

In his request to the King of Spain and the Pope, López Obrador admitted that he must also apologize to indigenous peoples the abuses committed by the Mexican state since its independence in 1821.

In 2021, the 700 years of the foundation of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital and present-day Mexico, the 500 years of his fall in the hands of the Spaniards and the 200 years of the independence of Mexico.

With information from EFEUSA