Sanchez's diplomatic forays are backfiring for Spain

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is juggling multiple diplomatic stumbles in Latin America, inflaming colonial-era tensions and threatening the region’s deepest investment relationships.

First, there was a historical tussle with Argentina four months ago, still unresolved. Then there was his shambolic intervention into Venezuelan politics in recent weeks. Now, Sanchez finds himself in the middle of a major rift with Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum — who is widely considered an ideological bedfellow for the Socialist European leader.

The latest clash comes after Mexico snubbed King Felipe VI — officially Spain’s head-of-state — by not inviting him to Sheinbaum’s inauguration and asking Sanchez instead. Spain’s government said it wouldn’t send any envoy as King Felipe is the main representative for such occasions.

The tensions underline Sanchez’s trouble to assert himself as a major diplomatic leader. Although he feels widely at ease in international forums and discussing foreign affairs, he has focused largely on the European Union and less on Latin America.

He has also failed to make major marks on matters beyond Spain and is contending with a growing list of missteps and awkward forays on the international stage. Sanchez shocked many in Europe earlier this month when he suggested on a trip to China that the European Union should “reconsider” its agreed decision to boost tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles — potentially complicating delicate negotiations with Beijing.

The reason for Sheinbaum’s snub is Spain’s colonization of Mexico, which ended more than two centuries ago. In 2019, Sheinbaum’s predecessor, the outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, sent a personal letter to King Felipe asking that Spain acknowledge historical grievances against Mexico. Sheinbaum says the letter was unanswered and that instead Sanchez’s government issued a press release — in which it indicated there was no reason to say sorry.

The Spanish government’s position is in line with the widespread view in the country — shared across party and social lines — that there is nothing to regret and that Spain made important contributions to Latin America, including language and religion. Many Spaniards also say the country didn’t traffic in slaves in the same way other empires did and that settlers mixed with indigenous populations — arguments widely disputed by historians outside the country.

But at the heart of the problem also lies Sanchez’s problematic management of its relations with Latin America, a region historically seen as its main area of diplomatic influence. The European nation is among the top three investors in most major Latin American countries.

The problems for Madrid go beyond ideological lines. In May, Madrid summoned its ambassador in Buenos Aires after right-wing, libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei accused Sanchez’s wife of corruption during a visit to to the country. The ambassador hasn’t returned yet, effectively making it the lowest point in the two countries’ relations in well over a century.

Milei has repeatedly mocked and criticized Sanchez since then publicly.

More recently, Venezuela accused Spain of helping organize a coup against Nicola Maduro and arrested two Spaniards on espionage charges after Sanchez’s government granted asylum to opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. However, Sanchez’s move has also enraged the Venezuelan opposition, who say that he is enabling Maduro by removing Gonzalez from the country.

Compounding the problem is that Spain is home to a large diaspora from all three countries. The nation is home to the largest Argentine community abroad and the largest of Venezuelan population outside Latin America. This decade, Madrid has become a major destination for wealthy Mexicans, who are investing heavily in real estate in the city.