Isabel Ayuso’s statement provoked criticism in the Spanish Parliament; President Claudia Sheinbaum responded and said it was “historical ignorance”
The governor of the community of Madrid, Isabel Ayuso, stated on Thursday (May 14, 2026) that Mexico did not exist before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. The statement was made during a session in the Spanish Parliament. The Mexican territory has a documented history of more than 13,000 years and was the cradle of civilizations such as the Aztecs.
“Mexico didn’t exist until Spain arrived”declared Ayuso in Congress. “Ask the president of Mexico what the country’s past is before we merge with it”he completed. The governor later stated that she was referring strictly to the construction of current Mexican civilization.
Ayuso was speaking after being summoned to provide clarification on a recent 3-day trip to Cancún, for which the opposition demanded accountability. The talk about a supposed past of “violence and barbarity” prior to colonization caused laughter and criticism from deputies, who recalled that the Spanish conquerors practically annihilated the Aztec Empire 500 years ago.
Here are the reactions after Ayuso’s statement:
- Claudia Sheinbaum (president of Mexico) – declared that the governor should “get to know more about grandeur and culture” of the country before the Spanish invasion and made fun of Ayuso’s trip: “She hates Mexico so much that she vacations here.”;
- Mar Espinar (leader of the Madrid Socialist Party) – formally apologized to the Mexicans and criticized the governor’s attitude: “To the Mexicans who watch us, I want to say that Madrid is not Ayuso. Spain respects Mexico. Being patriotic does not mean erasing our past, but embracing it with its lights and shadows”.
HISTORY OF MEXICO
The territory that today corresponds to Mexico was home to Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs, who developed complex urban, agricultural and political systems. Until the 16th century, the Aztecs consolidated a powerful empire with advanced military and administrative organization.
The region underwent a profound transformation from 1519 onwards, when the expedition led by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés began the conquest of the territory.
The process culminated in the fall of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, in 1521, and the establishment of the viceroyalty of New Spain, Spanish colonial rule that lasted until Mexican independence in 1821.
