Mexico isn't subordinate, Sheinbaum says as Trump takes office

Matthew Malinowski, Bloomberg News on Jan 12, 2025

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in a speech to crowds of supporters days before Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. head of state, vowed her country would not be subordinated by its northern neighbor.

Ties between both nations will stay strong and dialogue will prevail, Sheinbaum said during the speech in a Mexico City square on Sunday to mark her first 100 days in office. She highlighted prior collaboration between Trump and her predecessor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, citing an overhauled North American free trade deal.

“We will always have our heads up,” Sheinbaum said on U.S.-Mexico relations. “Mexico is a free, independent and sovereign country. As I have said, we coordinate and we collaborate, but we don’t become subordinated.”

Trump’s team is already pressuring Mexico on migration and flows of illicit goods even before taking office on Jan. 20, threatening to enact 25% tariffs on Mexican products if action isn’t taken. The U.S. president-elect also said last week he wanted to rename the Gulf of Mexico and claimed Latin America’s second-largest economy was “run by the cartels,” further escalating tensions.

Sheinbaum praised Mexicans living in the U.S., saying they send home some $65 billion in remittances while contributing to the world’s largest economy by consuming, saving and paying taxes. “They are extraordinary workers in fields, construction and services, and they are great university scientists,” she said.

Separately, Mexico expects to set records for investment and project financing in 2025 despite “noise” coming from the U.S., Edgar Amador, undersecretary of finance and public credit, told LatinFinance in an interview published on Sunday.

LatinFinance quoted Amador as saying that on Monday the government will present a road map to attract private investment and present strategic public investments. The plan will reinforce the message that U.S.-Mexico ties are solid.