Spanish Minister of Economy Visits Mexico to Boost Trade Ties

Spain's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Carlos Cuerpo will arrive in Mexico City on June 2 for a two-day official visit accompanied by 65 Spanish companies, marking the first high-level EU economic mission to Mexico since the signing of the EU-Mexico Modernized Global Agreement on May 22. The visit operationalizes a diplomatic normalization between both countries and positions Spain  as a priority partner across energy transition, infrastructure, financial services, and the digital economy, sectors directly affected by the new trade framework.

Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise Carlos Cuerpo will arrive in Mexico City on June 2 for a two-day official visit aimed at deepening institutional and economic relations between Spain and Mexico, the latter being the top destination for Spanish investment in Latin America. The visit is the first by an EU member state to Mexico since the signing of the EU-Mexico Modernized Global Agreement on May 22.

Cuerpo is accompanied by a delegation of 65 Spanish companies and is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum to advance the bilateral cooperation agenda in what both governments have framed as a period of accelerated diplomatic normalization following years of tension rooted in Mexico's demands for a formal apology from Spain over the colonial conquest.

Business Forum and Government Meetings

On June 2, Cuerpo will preside over a business forum alongside Mexican Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard, with participation from more than 300 representatives of Spanish and Mexican firms. The forum focused on opportunities under the newly signed EU-Mexico agreement and bilateral commercial priorities.

Cuerpo's meeting with Sheinbaum is expected to cover the priorities of the shared economic relationship and sectors with the highest cooperation potential, including energy transition, infrastructure, financial services, and the digital economy. The minister is also scheduled to meet separately with the secretaries of Finance and Public Credit and of Energy.

On June 3, Cuerpo will hold meetings with investors and executives from major Mexican corporations with interest in the Spanish market, concluding with a startup roadshow designed to facilitate the entry of Spanish startups into Mexico's local ecosystem. He stated that "Spain aspires to position itself as a reference partner for Mexico in taking advantage of this new framework," referring to the EU-Mexico agreement signed May 22.

The Scale of the Bilateral Economic Relationship

Spain is the second-largest investor in Mexico after the United States, with approximately 6,000 Spanish-capital companies operating across key sectors, financial services, energy, infrastructure, tourism, technology, and manufacturing,  supporting close to 500,000 jobs.

Mexico is Spain's top export destination in Latin America, with more than 10,300 Spanish companies exporting to the country. On the Mexican side, Mexico has consolidated its position as the largest Latin American investor in Spain, with around 700 companies generating approximately 55,000 jobs and an accumulated investment stock of close to €35 billion euros, representing more than half of the total originating from all of Latin America.

Bilateral trade in goods and services has grown more than 44% since the pandemic, reaching nearly EU$17 billion in 2025 despite successive global economic shocks.

Diplomatic Normalization: From Rupture to Rapprochement

The economic visit follows a sequence of diplomatic steps that have formally closed a years-long rupture between the two countries. The tensions began in 2019 when then-President López Obrador demanded a formal apology from the Spanish Crown for human rights violations committed during the conquest. When Madrid did not respond, Sheinbaum took the unusual step of not inviting King Felipe VI to her inauguration in 2024. Spain called the decision "unacceptable" and sent no representative to the ceremony.

The thaw became visible in March 2026 when King Felipe acknowledged that "there was much abuse" during the conquest, the first time a Spanish monarch had publicly recognized the excesses of the colonial period. Sheinbaum received the remarks favorably.

In April, Foreign Affairs Minister José Albares completed a two-day official visit to Mexico City, where he met with Sheinbaum at the National Palace in an encounter that was not on the official agenda. The two discussed bilateral cooperation and upcoming cultural exchanges. Albares and Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco signed the Act of the Spain-Mexico Binational Commission, a diplomatic instrument both sides invested with political significance. Velasco spoke of building "a new stage" with Spain and underlined that the bilateral relationship "exceeds the everyday." Albares described the visit as one conducted "with total normality" and highlighted the "frank and friendly" reception he received.

"It is difficult to find on the planet two countries with a relationship as close and fraternal as Spain and Mexico," Albares said at a final press conference held at the Spanish ambassador's residence.

The prior weekend, Sheinbaum attended the fourth summit of the "In Defense of Democracy" initiative in Barcelona, the first visit by a Mexican president to Spain in eight years, where she met with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Sánchez stated on his X account that both had agreed to "continue strengthening our special cultural, economic and social ties." Cuerpo at the time described Sheinbaum's presence in Barcelona as "a very important and positive signal of the rapprochement between the two countries."

Sheinbaum, for her part, said in Barcelona: "There is no diplomatic crisis. There never has been," and invited Sánchez to visit Mexico the following year. She also invited King Felipe VI to the FIFA World Cup inauguration ceremony, which Mexico is co-hosting with the United States and Canada in June, describing the event as "an opportune opportunity to evoke the depth and unique character of the ties between Mexico and Spain."

Albares also delivered to Sheinbaum a personal invitation from King Felipe VI to the Ibero-American Summit scheduled for November in Madrid. Mexico has not yet confirmed the president's attendance.