Right-wing politicians in Spain slammed President Joe Biden’s proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday and refused to apologize for the barbaric acts committed when the country colonized the Americas starting in 1492. Spain’s colonial expansion into the Americas was characterized as “the most important event in history after the Roman empire,” by Pablo Casado, leader of the conservative People’s Party, on the eve of the country’s holiday honoring Christopher Columbus.
“Does the kingdom of Spain have to apologize because five centuries ago it discovered the New World, respected those who were there, created universities, created prosperity, built entire cities?” Casado asked in a video posted to Twitter. “I don’t think so.”
Monday Biden proclaimed Columbus Day to simultaneously be Indigenous Peoples Day. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society,” the proclamation said.
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed Columbus’ arrival to the Americas led to “a wave of devastation” for Native Americans in remarks at the National Congress of American Indians 78th annual convention.
Columbus enslaved native people after finding the New World, and at least one member of his crew recorded the rape of an indigenous woman.
“He has just attacked the great masterpiece of the Spanish conquest: the evangelisation,” Santiago Abascal, leader of the conservative Vox party, said, BBC News reported. He also denounced Biden as “the lamentable president of the United States.”
“How proud we can feel about what our ancestors did,” he said, calling Spanish colonies “the empire of human rights.”
Spain continues to have close ties with Latin America, however many former colonies believe that Spain has not acknowledged the human rights atrocities it committed, BBC News reported. In September, Pope Francis spoke of the “personal and social sins” cultivated by the Catholic Church in Mexico during the conquest.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador agreed with the pope’s message and has called on Spain to apologize for its past behavior as an imperial power, BBC News reported.
