Thursday, February 27, 2025

Mexican President Calls for Calm and a “Cool Head” in the Face of Donald Trump’s Actions

Mexican President Calls for Calm and a “Cool Head” in the Face of Donald Trump’s Actions
Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, calls for calm and a “cool head” in the face of Donald Trump’s actions. Photo: Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua /Presidency

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called for calm and a "cool head" in the face of executive orders signed by US President Donald Trump during his first day in office.

"At all times we must act responsibly, with a cool head, in order to establish the relations that we need to establish, because our priority is not to confront, to defend our sovereignty and that of the Mexican people," the president said during her morning press conference at the National Palace.

Sheinbaum said it is important to refer only to the decrees signed yesterday by President Donald Trump, to act with moderation and wait for Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente to contact the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio; however, the country and the Mexicans will always be defended.

To the people of Mexico, Sheinbaum said, “rest assured that we will always defend our sovereignty and our independence, that is a maximum principle that the president must fulfill; the second thing is that we will always support the Mexicans who are in the United States, our fellow citizens, our countrymen. These two principles are fundamental and elementary for a president or a president of the Republic,” she stressed.

The president added that she will act within the framework of the Mexican Constitution and its laws.

“Now, it is important to always keep a cool head and refer to the decrees signed beyond the speech itself, which is valid in the strict sense of the law, because they are the decrees signed by President Trump, so we are going to put everything in context,” he said when referring to five executive orders signed by Donald Trump that have to do with Mexico.

The first one she referred to was the one signed by Trump on the decree of the emergency zone of the southern border, which Sheinbaum specified is very similar, "practically the same", as the one signed in his first term in office in 2019.

“If you compare the two decrees, there are differences, but they are very similar. I say this because it has already happened, it is not something new. It happened in 2019, so it is important to know that there was already a framework for action, cooperation between the United States government and Mexico,” said the Mexican president.

Although former President Joseph Biden removed the decree when he took office, Donald Trump has restored it.

The second signed ordinance involving Mexico, he recalled, is the one signed on the “Stay in Mexico” program or MPP, as they call it, which he specified was established by President Donald Trump in his first term, in December 2018, and which orders that people who request asylum in the United States are not allowed to remain in its territory while they are requesting the benefit.

“…That is what the MPP essentially says. We have our own immigration policy but we are also a humanitarian government; if there is a person who is at the border, especially now that it is so cold, then we obviously act in a humanitarian manner, we are not going to leave people out in the open, and we seek repatriation to their countries if necessary,” explained the president of Mexico.

He also said that there should be dialogue with the United States agencies that deal with immigration matters, in order to find all the protocols and mechanisms. 

“This has nothing to do with a safe third country, it is a statement from the United States government. What do we do about it? Act in a humanitarian manner and then, in accordance with our foreign policy, our immigration policy, seek the repatriation of these people to their countries of origin if they are not Mexican.”

The third topic that the Mexican president touched on was the change of name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which Trump has signed to happen. In that sense, she explained that, according to the executive order, this new title will be on the continental shelf that corresponds to the United States, not the entire body of water.

“It is important to read what the decree says; they say that it will be called the Gulf of America on its continental shelf, that is, what corresponds to the continental shelf of the United States, they call it the Gulf of America, for us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Sheinbaum pointed out.

Regarding the classification of drug cartels as terrorist organizations, he said that work must be done in collaboration, but always respectful of sovereignty and territory.

“The decree establishes that they have at least two weeks to study who they would call a terrorist organization. What do we say? They can act in their territory, within their framework of action and their Constitution. What we say is the defense of our sovereignty, of our independence. That is why we always said we coordinate, but we are a free, independent and sovereign country, and what we are going to seek is coordination,” he said.

Sheinbaum highlighted that the current Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, said that coordination with Mexico will be sought, “and that is what we are going to seek, coordination in matters of security with respect to our sovereignty. That is what we are proposing and the space for communication must be opened from now on.”

Finally, he spoke about the signing of the executive order that refers to the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada (USMCA), where he explained that the decree states: “The United States Trade Representative will initiate the public consultation process established in section 4611(b) of title 19 of the United States Code, with respect to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in preparation for the review of the USMCA in July 2026.”

He also said that the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Security will evaluate illegal migration and fentanyl flows from Mexico and Canada and will recommend appropriate trade and national security measures to resolve this emergency. 

“So, once again, we will always act in defense of our sovereignty and our independence; two, in the protection and support of solidarity with our fellow citizens, with the Mexicans who live in the United States; three, we will act within the framework of our Constitution and our laws; and four, always with a cool head,” Claudia Sheinbaum stressed.

 “It is important to remain calm and read the decrees as such in order to make an interpretation. Know that the President of the Republic will always defend Mexico above all else.”

You may be interested in: Foreign Ministry reaffirms its support for immigrants in the United States in the face of threats from Donald Trump

Pamela Cruz
Pamela Cruz
Editor-in-Chief of Peninsula 360 Press. A communications expert by profession, but a journalist and writer by conviction, with more than 10 years of experience in the media. Specialized in medical and scientific journalism by Harvard and winner of the International Visitors Leadership Program scholarship from the U.S. government.

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