At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about her upcoming trip to Honduras and revealed she was surprised by some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media activity over the weekend.
She also gave presidential endorsements to a deceased Mexican singer-songwriter from the state of Guanajuato and an active musical group from Tijuana.
Sheinbaum: It’s an ‘important time’ to talk about Latin American and Caribbean unity
Sheinbaum said that the first reason why she decided to attend the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Wednesday is “because we love Xiomara [Castro], the president of Honduras, and she invited us and it’s hard to say no to her.”
“She’s very persistent, I already said that, so she convinced me [to go],” she said.
Sheinbaum said on Friday that she would attend the CELAC summit, but only “for around two hours.”
On Monday, the president indicated that she wasn’t initially inclined to attend the regional summit “because we have a lot of work here.”
Being away, even if it’s just for half a day, means that one doesn’t have the opportunity to attend to “other issues,” she said.
Sheinbaum told reporters that the second reason why she decided to attend the CELAC summit is because she believes it’s “an important time to talk about the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Sheinbaum said she’s not going to Tegucigalpa just to engage with like-minded presidents from the “progressive” side of politics, but rather to discuss “the importance of expanding the Latin America and Caribbean relationship.”
“We’re a region with enormous potential, with a very close culture. And this is part of what I’m going to propose,” she said.
The CELAC summit will take place a week after the United States imposed additional tariffs on imports from many Western Hemisphere countries, although those from Mexico avoided the so-called “reciprocal” duties.
Trump’s social media sharing of Mexico’s anti-fentanyl ads surprises Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum told reporters she was surprised that Trump shared ads from Mexico’s anti-fentanyl campaign on social media.
On Sunday, the U.S. president posted two of Mexico’s ads to his Truth Social account, both of which were dubbed into English.
Sheinbaum said she sent the videos to Trump a week or so ago, and applauded his decision to share them given the worldwide reach of his social media posts.
“A lot of people in the whole world look at President Trump’s social media,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that Trump’s decision to post the two videos to Truth Social amounted to “recognition” that “the phenomenon of drugs or drug addiction” is not just a matter of combating the trafficking of drugs within Mexico and to the United States, but also of stopping people from taking drugs in the first place.
“There is a substantive part, which is addressing the causes,” she said. “Why does a young woman or young man start to use a drug?”
In February, Trump thanked Sheinbaum for giving him the idea to launch a large-scaled anti-drugs campaign in the United States.
Sheinbaum the rocker
After the government announced a “music without violence” competition for people aged 18-34, a reporter asked the president what music she listens to.
“Everything,” Sheinbaum responded before giving a shout-out to José Alfredo Jiménez, a long-deceased singer-songwriter from Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, who was known as “El Rey de la Canción Ranchera” (The King of Ranchera Music) or simply “El Rey” — the title of one of his most iconic songs.
“Anything more recent,” probed the reporter.
“More recent? I listen to Grupo Firme,” Sheinbaum said, providing a presidential endorsement of the regional Mexican music band from Tijuana.
“… I also listen to a lot of oldies because they’re from my time. I also like to listen to rock, I listen to rock en español a lot,” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
