Monday, October 27, 2025

Sheinbaum vows to defend sovereignty in defiant speech to 400,000 supporters

President Claudia Sheinbaum marked the completion of her first year in office with a major speech on Sunday in Mexico City’s central square, where she was joined by a huge crowd of supporters and a large group of federal and state officials.

“We meet again in this magnificent Zócalo, heart of the republic,” she said at the start of a 55-minute address after she was given a glowing introduction by Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada.

Sheinbaum extending her arms out to a crowd in Mexico City's Zócalo
One year after assuming the presidency, Sheinbaum returned to Mexico City’s Zócalo to give an update on her progress. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)

“Here, where history beats, we gather to commemorate together one year of the people’s government, because I do not walk alone, I do not govern alone,” Sheinbaum told a crowd of more than 400,000 people.

“Ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people of Mexico,” she said.

Four days after celebrating the first anniversary of her presidency, and standing on a stage whose back wall was emblazoned with the message “the transformation advances,” Sheinbaum defended the legacy of her predecessor and outlined various government achievements, many of which she previously highlighted in her first government report speech on Sept. 1.

Here are seven takeaways from her address on Sunday, for which the National Palace served as a grandiose backdrop.

Sheinbaum remains staunchly loyal to the man who helped her reach Mexico’s highest political post

Very early in her address, Sheinbaum spoke about her predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who has virtually disappeared from public life since leaving the presidency a year ago, but who nevertheless remains a central figure in Mexican politics, in part because he set much of the president’s agenda via legislative proposals he submitted to Congress last year.

President López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum
President Sheinbaum enjoys a political stronghold that was set it motion by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)

The president described AMLO as an “honest man” who is “deeply committed” to the Mexican people, and asserted that he played a significant role in putting Mexico on “a path of social justice” and “dignity,” on which “social rights, freedom, democracy, and sovereignty” are guaranteed.

“They have tried to divide us, to make us split,” she said, referring to opposition politicians and government critics.

“Their objective is nothing more than to put an end to the transformation movement … but that won’t happen because … [AMLO and I] share values — honesty, justice and love for the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.

“… We share a project — Mexican humanism,” she said, adding that her government came to office to “continue transforming the nation for the well-being of the people.”

“Andrés Manuel López Obrador is and always will be an example of honesty, austerity and profound love for the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.

She highlighted, as she has done on numerous occasions, that more than 13 million people were lifted out of poverty during AMLO’s six-year term as president.

Sheinbaum is publicly confident that the USMCA review will go well 

Sheinbaum declared that she is “certain” that her government will reach “good” agreements on trade with the United States and “all the nations of the world.”

Canada and Mexico agree to deepen ties ahead of USMCA trade deal review

Mexico, the United States and Canada will conduct a review of their trade pact, the USMCA, in 2026.

United States President Donald Trump, who has undermined the trilateral pact by imposing tariffs on a range of Mexican and Canadian goods, has indicated that he wants to renegotiate the USMCA, rather than just review it.

In a move widely interpreted as an effort to appease the U.S. and thus smooth the way toward a favorable USMCA review outcome, Sheinbaum last month submitted a proposal to Congress that seeks to impose higher tariffs on imports from China and other countries with which Mexico doesn’t have trade agreements.

Sheinbaum wants Mexico to become a ‘country of innovation’

Sheinbaum said that in the coming weeks, her government will present a prototype of the Olinia electric vehicle, which is slated to be built en masse in Mexico in the years ahead.

She also said that her administration will soon provide updates on its National Semiconductor Design Center, as well as projects to build satellites and an unmanned aerial vehicle “produced 100% in Mexico.”

“This is part of an ambitious project that we will present in the coming weeks that we call, ‘Mexico, country of innovation,’ which includes the development of the National Artificial Intelligence Laboratory,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum has full faith in Mexico’s renewed judiciary 

Sheinbaum said that “19 constitutional reforms and 40 new laws” were approved in the last 13 months, a period that includes the final month of López Obrador’s presidency.

The first of the “most important” legislative changes she mentioned was the controversial judicial reform, which AMLO promulgated two weeks before he left office, and which enabled Mexico’s first-ever judicial elections to be held earlier this year.

“We had free elections for Supreme Court justices, magistrates and judges,” Sheinbaum said without mentioning the low turnout of 13%.

“I take this opportunity to greet the new Supreme Court justices. The era of nepotism, corruption, and privilege in the judiciary has ended, and a new era of legality and justice for all begins. A true rule of law. It is something very profound,” she said.

Sheinbaum names the Gulf of Mexico Train

At the 36-minute mark of her speech, Sheinbaum, while outlining the government’s various infrastructure projects, put the following question to the masses of people gathered in the Zócalo: Who agrees that the train from Mexico City to Nuevo Laredo should be called the “Gulf of Mexico Train”?

After a show of hands, the president declared that a majority of people agreed with the proposal.

Sheinbaum beamed after she mentioned the proposed name of the passenger train that will run along the railroad that will connect the capital to the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, as its slated moniker is a clear poke at the U.S. president.

Sheinbaum has effectively dismissed as a gimmick Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. On Sunday, she appealed to people’s patriotism when deciding to hold a snap poll on the proposed name of the train, and underscored that on this side of the border, the Gulf of Mexico will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico, no matter what the U.S. president says or does.

Sheinbaum is determined to show that Mexico is not at the behest of the US

Sheinbaum highlighted that the Mexican Constitution has been amended to read that, “the people of Mexico, under no circumstance, will accept interventions, interferences or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to their safety, independence and sovereignty.”

The president, a tireless defender of Mexican sovereignty, also assured those in attendance at the Zócalo that her government’s security policy “is decided sovereignly in Mexico” and that it only answers to “the people of Mexico” no matter how intense the pressure is from elsewhere.

Although she didn’t explicitly mention the United States or Trump while making the aforesaid remarks, Sheinbaum’s message was clear: Mexico acts in its own interests and takes its own decisions no matter how much pressure is being exerted from Washington.

Whether that is entirely true is highly debatable, but the president is determined to at least generate a public perception that that is the case.

Those who believe that the Sheinbaum administration is yielding to U.S. pressure to a significant extent can point to things such as the deployment of 10,000 troops to the northern border region to stave off a tariff threat, the transfer of 55 cartel figures to the United States and the plan to increase tariffs on imports from China.

Sheinbaum is pleased with her first year in office 

Early in her speech, Sheinbaum ran through a range of data that she asserted was proof that Mexico is doing well economically.

She highlighted that the economy is expected to grow 1.2% this year, unemployment is low, foreign direct investment reached a record high in the first half of 2025 and the USD:MXN exchange rate “remains below 19.”

Toward the end of her address, Sheinbaum said she was “certain” that Mexico is on “the right path.”

She also reaffirmed her government’s commitment to “the Fourth Transformation of Public Life in Mexico,” a political project that AMLO initiated when he took office in late 2018.

The transformation “belongs to the people,” Sheinbaum said.

“… I’m not going to fail you,” she added.

“My commitment is to the people, and continues to be to give my soul, my life, and the best of myself for the well-being of the people of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said.

“My commitment is to defend the homeland. My commitment to you is to be a president who rises to the generosity and greatness of our history and the people of Mexico.”

By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])

33 COMMENTS

  1. I’m curious why you say her declaring that Mexico is acting in its own interest and not caving is “highly debatable”? My understanding of both of the events you mention were more strategic than conciliatory.

    • Thanks for the comment.

      The decision to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border region was announced as part of a deal Sheinbaum reached with Trump in February that resulted in the United States’ proposed 25% tariff on imports from Mexico being postponed for one month.

      The tariffs took effect in March, but just two days later Trump suspended the duties on exports covered by the USMCA.

      It would appear logical to assume that the tariffs would have taken effect in February had Sheinbaum not agreed to send troops to the northern border.

      I think you would find many people willing to argue that Mexico’s plan to impose higher tariffs on imports from China and decision to send dozens of cartel figures to the United States is/was, at least in part, a response to trade and security pressure from the United States.

      Of course, the main stated reason for the higher tariffs is to protect Mexican industry from cheap imports, while Mexican authorities said that there was a risk that some of the detained cartel figures could have been released from prison had they not been sent to the United States.

      We recently published an opinion article by Mexican security expert Carlos A. Pérez Ricart, who wrote:

      “From the White House, Donald Trump wields immense power and uses it without hesitation to extort Mexico on every possible front. The logic is brutally simple: The Mexican government is prepared to concede almost anything in order to safeguard the renegotiation of the USMCA and preserve the promise of low tariffs.”

      You can read that piece here:

      https://mexiconewsdaily.com/opinion/why-mexico-must-resist-the-deas-overreach-a-perspective-from-public-policy-expert-carlos-a-perez-ricart/

      In August, Trump said that Mexico “does what we tell them to do.”

      Needless to say, Sheinbaum didn’t agree with the assertion.

      Peter Davies

  2. She is a very good public speaker. In fact, she does steer Mexico to act in its own interests and take its own decisions no matter how much pressure is being exerted from Washington. How could it be otherwise? The fact that she is handling the US with so much dexterity is unassailable. Name another Mexican politician who you think could do better, MND.
    Injecting subjective language such as “grandiose” weakens the credibility of an otherwise informative piece. It reads more like commentary than reporting. You do this alot in your political pieces. Sliding in adjectives like “grandiose” doesn’t give you the imprimatur of balanced journalism—it just makes the reader roll their eyes.

  3. Oh my God, why is she pandering to the extremist. The United States has no damn intentions on invading Mexico for Christ sake.
    Stop it with all that bullshit.
    She must be surrounded by a bunch of liberals with Trump Derangement Syndrome.
    I think Trump has mentioned her name twice in nine months.
    🤦‍♂️

    • Well, what she actually did was quote part of the Mexican constitution: “El pueblo de México, bajo ninguna circunstancia, aceptará intervenciones, intromisiones o cualquier otro acto desde el extranjero que sea lesivo a su integridad, independencia y soberanía, tales como golpes de Estado, injerencia en elecciones o la violación del territorio mexicano, sea esta por tierra, agua, mar o espacio aéreo.” Saying that Mexico does not accept “intervention” and “interference” seems pretty uncontroversial to me.

    • Trump did indeed propose miltary atrikes on cartels in Mexico. She has handled Trump brilliantly. Honestly rghink her gender helped her resist responding in kind. Her n only interest is mexi o, Mexico , MEXICO!

    • Trolling… likely has (pro)-Trump derangement syndrome; and not interested in reality.

      Reality is:
      “At least 20–35 occasions in public records and official statements. This is a conservative estimate based on documented calls, widely reported public remarks, and patterns of regular commentary on Mexico-U.S. relations. Beyond direct mentions, Trump has also referred to “the president of Mexico” or “Mexico’s government” in public statements or interviews another dozen or more times, often implicitly referencing Sheinbaum given the context and timing.”

  4. You know what, if Mexico News Daily “staff” keeps writing inflammatory nonsense like this I’m gonna cancel my subscription.

  5. So to complete the view of leadership and timing; At the perfect points and intersections with timing, the best of Leaders will achieve Pissing Off all sides of the equation, as does any truly talented leader. Of course this scares the wholly crap out of the majority of citizens and onlookers. How else can their sharpest attention be had? Most are in mid-dreams or focused centrally on hate. Either way, waking up is not considered an easy or desirable option.
    And just to be frank about it; Opinion is solely based on what one knows to be factual!!! All the rest is, at best, purely conjecture. Yeah, it might sound good, feel good to hear and even get applause or a lot of other sound effects from an ever hopeful crowd.
    And finally to the Rosy O’Donnel type in the Crowd, perhaps other’s opinions scare you sufficiently enough that you want to send them home. Perhaps it is YOU that should renounce your U.S. Citizenship. Then you will enjoy the status of a Worldly Person; who knows a small bit about many things but nothing specific about anything. Now that’s a world one does not want to wake up lost in. “Believe in Something,” OR “Fall For Anything.”

  6. If La Presidenta has an 80% approval rating (She does) isn’t it logical that those offering gratuitous criticism are one’s in the 20% group? Just an informed guess here but isn’t 20% lower than 80%? And also, why do 80% of the voting population admire Ms. Sheinbaum and her policies but 20% can’t stand her? Gotta suck to find oneself in the 20% group, huh? Someone somewhere once said that if a political party finds itself unable to convince others that its ideas are superior to their opposition’s ideas, maybe it’s time to rethink those ideas. Just food for thought. As my mother used to say: “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”

  7. Sheinbaum is an excellent president. She is trying to get the gum off her shoe, i,e, AMLO. Her ability to navigate foreign politics, her own government and the public is exceptional. However, least we forget that there is a 30% tariff (sales tax, VAT tax, whatever) on most goods coming in from the US. Her real issue is the cartels. They’re very much interwoven in the economy, the operating government and politicians. And the US can and probably will, state that the drugs coming into the US, kill Americans. As such, the US has the right to invade any country that threatens the US. (Forget the, “if they don’t buy it, we wouldn’t sell it”). Trump is already moving into the Chicago area, (with Federal troops) that is main distribution center for the cartel. And with Zambada and El Chapo providing the info on names, locations and structure, he will build a case for attacking the cartel wherever they are. (Venezuela drug boats). Trump also has, from Zambada, the cartel king pin, all the names and amounts on all the political payouts. I sure Sheinbaum doesn’t want that published.
    So…what’s wrong with a military base in Mexico? We have them in 20-30 other countries. They’re good for the Mexican economy and they can train Mexico’s military on a variety of fronts. This probably will happen. Sheinbaum is trying to figure out how to sell it.

  8. I think she is doing well in an impossible situation. Trump is the latest and loudest, but it’s never been easy to by located next to the United States. At least since (US) President Polk. The Monroe Doctrine was President Monroe’s warning to other colonial countries in Europe that basically Latin America belongs to the USA. If you’d like to know how many times the US has used it’s armed forces abroad –on the books– search Congressional Research Service R42738 . It’s current up to 2023

    There aren’t any entries for recent years, but 3-letter agencies, NGOs, military training, and yes the ‘drug wars’ have been more useful to the US Government than straight out military invasions. That is all to say that the (unspoken?) threats, hard negotiations create an overwhelming amount of pressure on our friends and neighbors. The US is losing power, but can still be a real boon to the Mexican economy, as well as a major threat. Trump turns the knob up to 11, but it was already at 10.

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