Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum displays a 17th-century world map showing "America Mexicana" -- pushing back at Donald Trump. Photo: Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo/X
Claudia Sheinbaum has suggested renaming the US as âMexican Americaâ
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has hit back at US President-elect Donald Trumpâs proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the âGulf of Americaâ.
Sheinbaum suggested that the US revert to a historic name for the territory â âAmerica Mexicanaâ or âMexican Americaâ. She made the comment standing in front of a 17th-century world map alongside former Culture Secretary Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real at a press briefing on Wednesday.
She was referring to Trumpâs pledge earlier this week to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the âGulf of Americaâ, because it has a âbeautiful ringâ and is âappropriate.â
âWhy donât we call it America Mexicana. It sounds pretty, no? Isnât that true?â Sheinbaum said. She pointed to a 1607 map displayed onstage, which showed an early image of the territory of North America that is now the US, Mexico, and part of Canada.
âThe fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century… as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent,â Suarez del Real said, as he demonstrated the area on the European map commissioned for the Amsterdam-based Dutch East India Company in the early 17th century.
Trump floated the idea of changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which stretches from Florida to Cancun, Mexico, at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday as part of a broader expansionist plan, including a potential takeover of Greenland. Trump said he would not rule out military or economic steps to acquire the Danish-controlled territory.
He cast doubt on Denmarkâs legal right to the island, saying âthey should give it upâ because it is an âabsolute necessityâ for US national security. The president-elect also did not rule out the possibility of using military force to regain control of the Panama Canal, which, according to him, was built for the US military and is âvital to our country.â
He also reiterated his threat to impose âvery serious tariffs on Mexico and Canadaâ over illegal border crossings and drug trafficking.
Responding to Trumpâs plans to slap 25% tariffs on Mexican imports, Sheinbaum earlier warned that Mexico would retaliate, arguing that the penalties would do nothing to stop the flow of migrants or drugs bound for the US, but would only cause inflation and unemployment in both countries.
(RT)
