Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed a provocative twist in a naming dispute with US President-elect Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Sheinbaum quipped that North America, including the United States, could be renamed “Mexican America”—a term rooted in a 1607 map of the region. The suggestion came as a response to Trump’s pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
During a press conference, Sheinbaum shared her lighthearted idea while displaying the historic map. “Mexican America, that sounds nice,” she remarked, pointing to the depiction of North America under its early designation. Alongside her was former culture minister Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real, who provided historical context, stating, “The fact is that Mexican America is recognised since the 17th century… as the name for the whole northern part of the continent.”
Trump’s renaming ambitions surfaced during a Tuesday press briefing, where he outlined an audacious agenda. “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he told reporters. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate.” Trump also floated plans to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, amplifying the global implications of his proposals.
In response, Sheinbaum refuted Trump’s claim that Mexico is “run by the cartels.” “In Mexico, the people are in charge,” she said, addressing security concerns and reaffirming her administration’s focus on tackling crime. Suarez del Real also pushed back against the Gulf renaming, stating that “the name has been internationally recognised and used as a maritime navigational reference for hundreds of years.”