INTERVENTION BY MEXICAN PRESIDENT CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM IN THE BARCELONA SUMMIT FOR DEMOCRACY Thank you very much, President Sánchez.
Thank you for the invitation.
Thanks to all my colleagues—presidents, prime ministers, Gabriel Boric.
I come to the Summit for Democracy on behalf of a hardworking, creative, and resilient people, but above all a deeply generous people—a people that have learned to resist without hatred, to defend its rights without ceasing to respect others, to believe in peace even when history has placed difficult trials and tribulations before it.
I come on behalf of a caring people, even amid adversity, a profoundly humanist people, that resists individualism, rejects discrimination, and refuses with dignity to look at others with contempt.
I come from a people that recognizes its origins in the great Indigenous cultures—those that were silenced, enslaved, and plundered, but never defeated, because there are memories that cannot be conquered and roots that can never be uprooted.
I come from the Pyramid of the Sun; I come from Tlaloc, from Huitzilopochtli, from Coatlicue.
I come from a millennial history that is not confined to the past, but a living presence in our communities, in our languages, in our way of viewing the world.
I come from a people with deep spiritual values, who know that their history is sacred, because in it they find the strength to rise up, to resist, and to continue forging their destiny with dignity.
I come with the legacy of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who in 1810 raised his voice for independence and days later had the courage to declare the abolition of slavery.
I come with the legacy of José María Morelos y Pavón, who in the Sentiments of the Nation wrote words that still resonate; that sovereignty emanates from the people, that poverty and wealth should be moderated, that dignity admits no castes, only the distinction between vice and virtue.
I come with the legacy of Leona Vicario, who defied her epoch to defend the right of women to fight for their country.
I come bearing the dignity of Josefa Ortiz Téllez-Girón, who reminded us that those who serve the nation should not be rewarded, but those who exploit it should be punished.
I come bearing the legacy of the Benemérito de las Américas, President Benito Juárez, an indigenous Zapotec fighter who, along with Mexican liberals, separated Church and State in the mid-19th century, defended the Republic against foreign invasion, and when victorious left us with a truism that belongs to the entire world: “Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.” I come bearing the legacy of Zapata, Villa, Madero, Carranza, Felipe Ángeles, Adela Velarde, Hermila Galindo—women and men who in 1910 rose not because of ambition, but rather for justice; not for power, but for the right of the Mexican people to live in a democracy, to control their natural resources, and to decide their own destiny.
I come bearing the legacy of General Lázaro Cárdenas, who, when the world closed its doors to Spanish republicans, opened Mexico’s doors to those fleeing pain and war.
I come from a country that embraced exiles and turned solidarity into action.
I come recognizing the courage of Frida Kahlo, who despite physical fragility, filled the struggle for justice with color.
I come to remind you that Mexico has upheld its principles even in isolation, that it raised its voice against the blockade of Cuba in 1962 when others remained silent.
