The heavy rain that fell in Madrid did not prevent the celebration of the National Day parade this Saturday, although its duration was shortened, and the citizens who, braving the bad weather, went to the Paseo del Prado, were unable to enjoy the passing of the planes or the parachute jump.
The parade was presided over by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, accompanied by Princess Leonor, dressed in the uniform of a midshipman from the Naval Academy. At the event, no mention was made of the demands of several Latin American countries to change the meaning of this celebration, which is remembered as a tragic date for the American people.
Also new are the flags of Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal and the Czech Republic, countries that together with Spain form one of the eight combat groups that make up the multinational brigade in the NATO mission responsible for deterrence on the eastern flank.
Once the military parade was over, King Felipe and Queen Letizia and the Princess of Asturias went to the Royal Palace for the traditional reception for the high-ranking State authorities and representatives of the political, economic, social and cultural world.
Claims from Latin America
A day before the celebration of October 12 in Spain, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum again called on the monarchy of that country to apologize for the atrocities committed against the indigenous Aztec peoples during the conquest.
The president argued that "recovering the sense of homeland, the sense of nation, the historical sense, is a fundamental element of the Fourth Transformation," the political movement that López Obrador began.
In Venezuela, where October 12 is commemorated as the Day of Indigenous Resistance with a large march, the government reiterated that Spain "should ask for forgiveness every day" for the "genocide" that it insists it committed in the XNUMXth century against American peoples, including those of Venezuela.
"The so-called Kingdom of Spain should ask for forgiveness every day, (…) today there is a campaign in the streets of Madrid claiming the abuse, the crime, the looting, the genocide against the peoples of America. It is imperialist arrogance, it is imperialist evil, the arrogance that guides them. We, with our humility, throw them out of here," said the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello.
In Bolivia, the Mujeres Creando collective carried out an "intervention" on Saturday in a square in the center of La Paz, throwing red paint at the statue of Isabel la Católica and leaving messages rejecting colonialism and "the conquest."
"Colonialism is dispossession, racism is genocide," was the main message left by this group of women at the foot of the statue, which they covered in red paint and placed a crown larger than the head on in a mocking tone.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday, October 12, that "there was no discovery" of America because there were already human beings inhabiting the continent before 1492.
"There was no discovery. Humans in America had already known each other for tens of thousands of years," the Colombian president said on social media X.
