Mexicans deserved to congratulate themselves, President Claudia Sheinbaum told the packed Zócalo square in Mexico City on March 9.HAARON ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum convened a mass rally in central Mexico City to celebrate a pause on U.S. tariffs, recasting an event originally planned as a show of unity and a platform for announcing retaliatory measures.
Mexicans deserved to congratulate themselves, she told the packed Zócalo square on Sunday. “In the relationship with the United States, with its government, dialogue and respect prevailed,” she said.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump granted Mexico and Canada a reprieve until April 2 from tariffs on products covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade.
The Mexican reprieve followed a conversation between the two presidents and was announced several hours prior to the decision pausing tariffs on Canada. Mr. Trump described their Thursday call as a “very good conversation,” while calling Ms. Sheinbaum a “wonderful woman.” For her part, Ms. Sheinbaum called it a “respectful call.”
The tone between the Mexican and American leaders contrasted sharply with Mr. Trump’s threats of Canadian annexation and the discourteous rhetoric toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Ms. Sheinbaum mentioned Mr. Trump twice in her speech, but spoke of a productive relationship with him. “We must always be grateful for the President of the United States' willingness to engage in dialogue with Mexico,” she said.
Ms. Sheinbaum mentioned U.S. President Donald Trump twice in her speech, but spoke of a productive relationship with him.Eduardo Verdugo/The Associated Press
She spoke often of “respect,” while delivering nationalistic flourishes from a stage in an iconic plaza – the seat of power since Aztec times – used often by Mexican presidents to project authority to the nation and a locus for citizen demonstrations.
“I am sure that with information and respectful dialogue we can always achieve a respectful relationship. It has been like this so far,” Ms. Sheinbaum said to an announced crowd of 350,000 people chanting “¡Presidenta!”
“We are neighbours. We have the responsibility to collaborate and co-ordinate,” she added. But “we cannot cede up our sovereignty nor can our people be affected by decisions made by foreign governments or hegemons.”
Ms. Sheinbaum has deftly handled Mr. Trump’s threats of tariffs, along with demands that Mexico halt the flow of migrants to the U.S. border and stamp out fentanyl production.
Mexico ramped up immigration enforcement, resulting in just 8,326 migrant encounters on the U.S. southwestern border last month – the lowest monthly total ever recorded – according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. authorities seized 263 kilograms of fentanyl last month, according to preliminary CBP figures – a nearly 71-per-cent drop compared to October.
Ms. Sheinbaum pulled a page from her predecessor’s playbook by convening a rally to announce the response to U.S. tariffs.HAARON ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images
Mexico appears to be reversing its previous security strategy of “hugs, not bullets” by ramping up arrests, decommissioning drug labs and even sending 29 drug cartel bosses to the U.S. Spy planes and drones are also flying over Mexican territory.
“We don’t know what was offered in return this time,” said Bárbara González, a political analyst in Monterrey. “Canada got the same deal without having to grovel to Trump.”
Mr. Trump’s demands don’t appear to be denting his Mexican counterpart’s popularity, even though she has quietly agreed to many of Mr. Trump’s demands. Ms. Sheinbaum’s approval rating reached 85 per cent in the latest poll by the newspaper El Financiero.
“Polls show a rise in Sheinbaum’s approval among opposition supporters, demonstrating a rally effect, that is, a closing of ranks around her leadership,” said poll director Alejandro Moreno.
Analysts attribute Ms. Sheinbaum’s popularity, in part, to the legacy of her predecessor and mentor, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He famously got along with Mr. Trump as a fellow populist. It’s something Ms. Sheinbaum remarked on Thursday, recalling how Mr. López Obrador decried his U.S. counterpart being suspended from Twitter (now X) as censorship.
Analysts attribute Ms. Sheinbaum’s popularity, in part, to the legacy of her predecessor and mentor, former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters
Ms. Sheinbaum pulled a page from her predecessor’s playbook by convening a rally to announce the response to U.S. tariffs. Mexicans took to social media with examples from past decades of one-party rule, when president’s would convene rallies – with attendance obligatory or induced with small payments – in an attempt to show muscle in times of crisis.
“When a Mexican president wants to show that they’re supported, they call a rally,” said Ilán Semo, a historian at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City.
Along with a high approval rating, analysts point to another factor working in Ms. Sheinbaum’s favour: different Mexican expectations in dealing with the United States. Indeed, Ms. Sheinbaum mentioned the Mexican-American War, in which Mexico lost half its territory to the U.S., in her speech, even as she spoke of co-operation and dialogue.
“A person who can make them negotiate is considered valuable in Mexico,” Mr. Semo said of the Mexican President.
When asked why Mexicans were less animated by Mr. Trump’s threats than Canadians, he responded, “The United States has never been seen as a friend.”