Spain “offends the memory” of Latin America by celebrating October 12, says Maduro

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, assured this Tuesday that he will send a letter to King Felipe of Spain to ask him to stop celebrating the October 12 ° as a holiday, because it is a date that recalls the “genocide” of indigenous people.

“It is an offense for all America that the King of Spain still celebrates on October 12, the day that America’s colonialism and the greatest genocide in history began, he celebrates it as a holiday, as a supposed day of civilization. ”Maduro said.

“I am sending a letter to the King of Spain that I will make known in the next few hours, where I reflect on him, with respect, always with respect,” said Maduro before supporters gathered outside the presidential palace of Miraflores.

Spain celebrates Hispanic Heritage Day on October 12, which commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America in 1492. The date was baptized in Venezuela as Indigenous Resistance Day by the late former president Hugo Chávez in 2002.

“We join the voices that have been raised in America to demand that the King of Spain rectify his position, reflect and apologize to America for the 300-year genocide,” Maduro said.

After months without public speeches, the president addressed a crowd of supporters who gathered on the outskirts of Miraflores after an October 12 march in central Caracas.

“I know that he is a man of the 21st century, so I am writing to him a letter with reflections from the hearts of our people, with great respect,” he said.

He said that the letter reflects the outrage experienced by indigenous peoples. “And that every time Spain goes out to celebrate and dance on October 12, it offends the historical memory of our grandparents and the historical heritage and values ​​of our peoples.”