In a recent interview, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s mother, Annie Pardo, expressed concern that her daughter “doesn’t sleep much because she’s very hard-working.”
Sheinbaum demonstrated that work ethic on Wednesday morning by appearing before reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City not long after she touched down on a flight from Canada, where she attended the G7 Summit on Tuesday.
“We arrived about two hours ago,” she told the press corps.
Sheinbaum said she slept “a little bit” on her overnight flight from Vancouver, before getting on with proceedings at her Wednesday mañanera.
Sheinbaum elaborates on her call with Trump
Sheinbaum once again acknowledged that United States President Donald Trump left the G7 Summit early “due to the situation in the Middle East.”
“You already know the opposition here … [claimed] it had something to do with us,” she said.
To “make up for” the cancelation of the proposed bilateral meeting in Canada, Sheinbaum said that arrangements were made for a telephone call with Trump on Tuesday afternoon.
She said on social media on Tuesday that she had a “very good telephone conversation” with the U.S. president, and that they “agreed to work together to soon reach an agreement on various issues that concern us today.”
Tuve una muy buena conversación telefónica con el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, quien me comunicó que ayer salió de emergencia por la situación en Medio Oriente. Coincidimos en trabajar juntos para llegar pronto a un acuerdo en diversos temas que hoy nos preocupan.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) June 17, 2025
On Wednesday, Sheinbaum said that Trump apologized for not being able to attend the scheduled bilateral meeting in Canada. She said that Trump even asked her whether she could drop by Washington, D.C., on her way back to Mexico.
Sheinbaum said she told him that she hadn’t planned to do so and that, in addition, she has “a lot of things” to attend to in Mexico. She also said she told Trump that there would be another opportunity for them to meet.
“I made a proposition to him in the sense that we’ve reached many agreements,” Sheinbaum added.
“Today we have a [shared] border that is much more secure, there is an agreement in terms of security, … in migration [to the United States] there is a very large reduction. … So I asked him why we don’t have a general agreement, an agreement that has to do with security, with migration, and also with trade,” she said.
“This has nothing to do with maintaining the free trade agreement … which will be reviewed in any case,” Sheinbaum said, referring to the USMCA.
“But rather that, at this time, we could reach a general agreement” between Mexico and the United States, she said.
“I also mentioned to him the importance of recognizing Mexicans in the United States; Mexicans, Mexican families that have been living in the United States for years, that work for the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
“… He knows about these families. I raised it with him and he said, ‘It’s true, there are a lot of Mexican families that work for the good of our country,'” she said.
“So I suggested this general agreement and he agreed,” Sheinbaum said.
She didn’t say whether her government would insist on the removal of tariffs on Mexican steel, aluminum and cars as part of a “general agreement” between Mexico and the U.S., but it would be logical for it to do so.
Sheinbaum did note that Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard will travel to Washington to meet on Friday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss “outstanding trade issues,” i.e. the aforementioned tariffs.
“It was a good conversation,” she said, referring to what she noted was a discussion of around 20 minutes with Trump.
“The cabinet, the ministers who went with me [to Canada] were present,” Sheinbaum added.
Sheinbaum reveals she had a brief conversation with UN secretary-general
Sheinbaum told reporters that she spoke to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for a “moment” when she and other leaders and officials were waiting to pose for their official group photo.
“He’s concerned about the global situation and the importance of building peace,” she said.
‘Everyone spoke very well of Mexico’
A reporter asked the president what other world leaders at the G7 Summit told her about “how they see” Mexico in an economic sense.
“They all see Mexico in a very good light,” Sheinbaum said.
“There were a lot of acknowledgements, even praise in some cases about what is happening in Mexico, the importance of what’s occurring, the economic importance our country has,” she said.
“… Everyone spoke very well of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.
“… Some people don’t want to believe it, it annoys them, but Mexico is very well regarded all over the world. We are a great country,” she said.
“There should not be these complexes of [Mexican] presidents in days gone by who didn’t love Mexico, who didn’t feel proud. When one is proud of his or her homeland, of his or her people, it is transmitted to the whole world,” Sheinbaum said.
Why does Sheinbaum fly commercial?
Sheinbaum flew to Canada with Air Canada, reaching Calgary — located east of Kananaskis, where the G7 Summit was held — after a layover in Vancouver.
She also flew commercial when she traveled to Brazil last year to attend the G20 Summit.
Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador sold Mexico’s presidential plane to the government of Tajikistan in 2023, but Sheinbaum has on occasion made use of military aircraft, such as when she flew to Honduras in April to attend the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Asked on Wednesday morning about criticism of her taking commercial flights, the president responded:
“Look, if I went in an army plane, I would be criticized. If I went in a navy plane, I would be criticized. If I go in a commercial plane, I’m criticized. If I travel in a car in Mexico City, I’m criticized. If I travel in an SUV [during tours] in the country, I’m criticized. So what I’m saying is that those who don’t agree [with me] will use any argument to criticize.”
Sheinbaum offered an explanation of one “important” reason why she chooses to travel on commercial airlines.
“You isolate yourself when you fly on army flights,” she said.
“… But traveling on a commercial flight gives you an idea of the reception of the citizenry toward you, even though it’s [only] one sector [of the population] that flies in the country,” Sheinbaum said.
“The vast majority of people in Mexico don’t have access to flying in a plane,” she said.
“So, this communication with people is important. And the truth is that until now, the reception of all Mexicans, even foreigners who recognize us, has been very good,” Sheinbaum said.
A Brazilian way of greeting or misogyny?
A reporter noted that some journalists and opposition party lawmakers described Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a “misogynist” because of the way he greeted Sheinbaum at the G7 Summit. The 79-year-old Brazilian president placed his hands on the Mexican president’s cheeks when greeting her.
Sheinbaum disagreed with the “misogynist” interpretation of Lula’s tactile salutation.
“Brazilians and particularly President Lula embrace everyone that way,” she said.
Sheinbaum told reporters that if they saw the way in which the Brazilian president greets people, they would realize his placing of his hands on a person’s cheeks is “an expression of friendship.”
“I don’t take it as something offensive,” Sheinbaum said.
“… It’s a way of him expressing himself. … He didn’t just do it with me because I’m a woman, but with other people as well. He embraced them in the same way,” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
