Ever since Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum refused last week to invite Spain’s King Felipe VI to her swearing-in ceremony, Spain’s colonial past (or perhaps not so colonial) has been one of the main topics of discussion in la madre patria (the mother country).
Sheinbaum accused the Spanish monarch of failing to acknowledge harm caused by his country's conquest of Mexico five centuries ago.
The decision prompted Spain to boycott the event altogether, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling the Mexican decision "inexplicable" and "totally unacceptable".
So why all the drama? The Netherlands, Denmark, France and the UK are among the European countries the formally apologised for their role in the slave trade and colonialism.
But many Spanish and Latin American historians alike are persuaded by the idea that Spain didn’t have colonies but rather viceroyalties, not exactly the same way as what other empires had.
A viceroyalty is a territorial entity removed from central court and governed on behalf of a monarch by a ‘viceroy’, but its citizens allegedly had the same rights as Spaniards.
There were also viceroyalties in Catalonia and Sicily, for example, just as there was the viceroyalty of ‘New Spain’, based in modern-day Mexico from the mid-1500s.
Even so, much of the debate stems from a disagreement over these historical definitions.
And as is often the case, whether public figures think Spain and its king should apologise is dependent on their political ideology.
The right-wing press and politicians are of course against Spain expressing any form or remorse, whereas those on the far-left, such as former Equality Minister Irene Montero, have been the most vociferous, saying that the Spanish king should “realise Spain has a lot of reasons to apologise to Mexico’s people”.
El Rey Felipe VI sí tiene motivos para pedir perdón al pueblo de México pic.twitter.com/MWzBV33CQ6
— Irene Montero (@IreneMontero) October 2, 2024
Spanish society has a habit of wanting to turn the page and not dig up the past - literally and metaphorically - as in the case of the hundreds of mass graves from the Spanish Civil War. So don’t expect an apology from Felipe VI anytime soon.
Next up, Madrid’s Mbappé Law, named after the French superstar footballer who joined Real Madrid this season.
Just like the Beckham Law, it is meant to lower tax rates for foreigners, but this one only applies to the region of Madrid and works slightly differently.
READ ALSO: What is Madrid’s Mbappé Law and is it worth it for foreigners?
It’s not a done deal yet though, and on Thursday Madrid’s General Assembly had a vote on amendments suggested by Vox, the Socialists and Más Madrid.
The right-wing Popular Party of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, which has a majority in Madrid, voted against said amendments, allowing the bill to get closer to coming into force as it stands.
Madrid’s Minister of Economy Rocío Albert stressed that the Mbappé Law "is not limited exclusively to foreign taxpayers, but also anyone who has resided outside of Spain during the last five years, regardless of their nationality."
"It is therefore an instrument that can be of enormous importance to facilitate the return of emigrants and help us to recover Spanish talent that is currently overseas.
“It is about attracting investments, yes, but above all it is about attracting talent," she claimed, in response to criticism from Vox that this legislation will not be applicable to the rest of Madrid’s residents.
Madrid’s left-wing parties criticised the fact that millionaires can benefit from the law’s tax perks by investing money in companies and assets that don’t even have to be in Madrid or Spain.
José María Mollinedo, general secretary of Spain's tax technicians' union, warned that the deduction for foreigners has no limit, as they can deduct up to 20 percent of the income they have to pay into Madrid's public coffers, through the regional tranche of Madrid's income tax:
"If these foreign people earn large incomes, they would not pay income tax to the Community of Madrid," he concluded.
Despite all the reproval, we can expect that the Mbappé Law will become a reality in the weeks to come.
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