Our relations with America will remain strong and we will not be subordinate to it

In a speech to crowds of supporters days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that her country will not be dependent on its northern neighbor.
Sheinbaum explained during her speech in a Mexico City square on Sunday, marking the first 100 days of her assuming office, that relations between the two countries will remain strong, and that dialogue will remain the prevailing method, according to Bloomberg News Agency.

Pressure over illegal immigration

The Mexican president also praised previous cooperation between Trump and her predecessor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, pointing to the updated North American Free Trade Agreement.
Regarding relations between Mexico and the United States, Sheinbaum said: “We will always hold our heads high. Mexico is a free, independent and sovereign country, and as I said, we cooperate and coordinate, but we do not accept to be subservient.”

Trump’s team has been putting pressure on Mexico over immigration and illicit goods flows even before he took office on January 20, threatening to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican products if action is not taken.

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico

The US President-elect also stated last week his desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico and said that Latin America’s second-largest economy is “controlled by cartels,” in reference to drug cartels, which increases tensions.
Sheinbaum had proposed renaming states in the southern United States “Mexican America”, in response to President Trump’s proposal to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to America’s Gulf.