Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attempted to mock Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday for factually stating that Spanish explorers brought horses to Mexico.
Rubio said during his speech at the Munich Security Conference that the U.S. will “always be a child of Europe,” highlighting Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World, the first English colonies and the introduction of the modern cowboy culture from the Spanish settlers. Ocasio-Cortez claimed at Technical University of Berlin’s TEDx event that native Mexicans and the descendants of African slaves would beg to differ with Rubio on horses, ranches and rodeos being brought over from Spain, though they were, in fact, introduced by Spanish explorers.
“Rubio’s speech was a pure appeal to western culture,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “My favorite part was when [he said] that American cowboys came from Spain. And I believe the Mexicans and descendants of African enslaved peoples would like to have a word on that.”
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Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought the first horses to Mexico in 1519 during his invasion of the Aztec Empire, according to Galicenos of Sawannee Horse Ranch. He initially brought 16 horses to Mexico in April 1519, established a settlement and later had more horses imported to the land after conquering the Aztecs.
The Spanish also established breeding farms to produce more horses, and other settlers significantly expanded the population of horses and cattle in the region, according to Archaeology Magazine. Indigenous cultures acquired these horses through alliances, theft, trade and the capture of Spanish settlers, which they used for transportation and labor.
The modern cowboy culture of the Americas can also trace its roots back to Spain, given that the Spanish settlers trained indigenous populations to wrangle cattle on horseback in order to maintain their ranches in places like Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, according to History.com.
Rubio used his speech to celebrate the shared cultural heritage between the U.S. and Europe.
“Our first colonies were built by English settlers, to whom we owe not just the language we speak but the whole of our political and legal system. Our frontiers were shaped by Scots-Irish – that proud, hearty clan from the hills of Ulster that gave us Davy Crockett and Mark Twain and Teddy Roosevelt and Neil Armstrong,” Rubio said. “Our great midwestern heartland was built by German farmers and craftsmen who transformed empty plains into a global agricultural powerhouse – and by the way, dramatically upgraded the quality of American beer.”
“Our expansion into the interior followed the footsteps of French fur traders and explorers whose names, by the way, still adorn the street signs and towns’ names all across the Mississippi Valley. Our horses, our ranches, our rodeos – the entire romance of the cowboy archetype that became synonymous with the American West – these were born in Spain,” Rubio continued.
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