The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, speaks during her daily conference at the National Palace in Mexico City on January 8, 2025.
Alfredo Estrella / AFP via Getty Images / AFP
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Alfredo Estrella / AFP via Getty Images / AFP
On Monday, the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, described a letter which she received from Google concerning the controversy to rename it from the Gulf of Mexico.
Last week, the technology company updated Google Maps in the United States to reflect Trump’s favorite title of “Gulf of America”. Mexico users always see the body of water with its original name, while all other international users visualize it with the two names listed.
Three things to know:
- An executive decree signed the first day of Trump power aimed to rename it from the “Gulf of America”. This decision triggered laughter and embarrassment, as well as tensions noted between Mexico and the United States
- Earlier this month, Sheinbaum shared a letter she wrote to Google with journalists, arguing that the United States was not allowed to unilaterally rename the Gulf.
- Google answered his letter, saying they intended to comply with Trump’s order and expressed their willingness to meet the Mexican government to discuss the issue more.
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The next Mexico movement
In a press briefing on Monday, Sheinbaum announced that his administration would expect a Google response before taking additional measures.
“Otherwise,” she said, “we will go to court.”
Rachel Treisman of NPR reported earlier this month than part of the sheinbaum argument against name change is based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This convention stipulates that the territorial sovereignty of ‘A country only extends 12 nabin miles from its coastline.
“If a country wants to change the appointment of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 naval miles. It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico,” said Sheinbaum. “This is what we explained in detail to Google.”
