President Claudia Sheinbaum discussed the latest data on Mexican auto exports and the situation in Gaza at her Tuesday morning press conference.
Health Minister David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz spoke about childhood obesity and diabetes, but failed to present his information as clearly as he would have liked.
Here is a recap of Sheinbaum’s May 27 mañanera.
Sheinbaum responds to data showing decline in auto exports in April
A reporter brought up the latest trade data published by national statistics agency INEGI, which showed that the value of Mexican exports increased 5.8% annually in April to US $54.29 billion, but auto sector export revenue fell 7.1% to $15.3 billion.
Sheinbaum said that due to United States’ tariffs and tariff threats, “a lot of companies, including automotive ones, decided to export more in March than they normally export [that month]” and as a result auto sector exports declined in April.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff “on all cars that are not made in the United States,” although U.S. content in vehicles assembled in Mexico is exempt from the duty, reducing the effective tariff to 15% on average, according to Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard. The U.S. tariff on foreign cars took effect on April 3.
Mexican auto parts that comply with USMCA rules are exempt from the 25% U.S. tariff on parts that took effect earlier this month.
Sheinbaum told reporters that companies that operate in Mexico “took advantage” of pauses on (fentanyl-related) tariffs that Mexico achieved thanks to agreements she struck with Trump in February and March.
They used this period to export more goods, she said.
For that reason, exports of vehicles increased in February and March, Sheinbaum said, adding that “we believe” the reduction in auto sector exports in April “has to do with that.”
“Speaking with the automakers, that’s essentially what they’re telling us,” she said.
“… The important thing … is that beyond the automotive sector a lot of other manufacturing companies increased exports to the United States and other countries [in April],” Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum condemns situation in Gaza
A reporter put it to the president that “we’re watching in real time a genocide that Israel is committing in the Gaza Strip.”
Nancy Flores, an investigative journalist with Contralínea, cited reports on “the murder of babies, boys, girls, women and the elderly” and asked Sheinbaum whether she was considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel as to do so “could be a way to show that we’re against this cruel, inhumane genocide.”
“First of all we condemn this situation,” said Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president and also the country’s first president with a Jewish background.
“Secondly, what we’re seeking is peace and that is the foreign policy of our country,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente is actively engaged in “looking for all means” through which peace can be reached in Gaza.
“That is the foreign policy of Mexico and the one we’re following every day,” she said.
Sheinbaum, a supporter of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, didn’t directly respond to the question about whether her government would consider ending diplomatic relations with Israel.
In March, the president officially recognized Nadya Rasheed as the Palestinian Ambassador to Mexico when the ambassador presented her letter of credence at the National Palace.
On Oct. 11, just 10 days after she was sworn in as president, Sheinbaum remarked:
“We condemn the aggression being endured by the Palestinian people, and we firmly believe that Palestine, like Israel, must be recognized in its full sovereignty. This has been Mexico’s longstanding position, and it remains unchanged.”
Health minister presents alarming — but inaccurate — data on childhood obesity and diabetes
Health Minister David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz told reporters that among children who have undertaken health checks in schools 39% suffer from obesity and 38% have diabetes.
He didn’t say how many children have undertaken health checks in schools, in which junk food can no longer be sold due to a ban that took effect earlier this year.
Kershenobich’s remarks were reported by numerous Mexican media outlets in articles with headlines such as “Health Ministry: Almost 40% of girls and boys in Mexico have diabetes or obesity.”
Later on Tuesday morning, the federal Health Ministry issued a correction.
“The health minister clarifies that the correct data indicates that 39% of children assessed in public schools are overweight and obese,” said the Health Ministry statement.
In other words, 39% of assessed children are either overweight or obese.
Kershenobich also clarified that 38% of the assessed children have “visual weakness,” but don’t necessarily have diabetes.
In the statement, he offered an apology for the “confusion” his remarks “may have created.”
The 82-year-old health minister (born on the same day in 1942 as former U.S. president Joe Biden) also spoke about the negative impact excessive consumption of sugar can have on children’s health.
His presentation at Sheinbaum’s press conference came after the president said that some children have asked her why candy and other sweet things have disappeared from schools.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
