Trade wars, Mexico’s low unemployment rate and the president’s taste in music.
Claudia Sheinbaum answered a wide variety of questions at her Thursday morning press conference.
Here’s how she responded to three of them.
Nobody wins in a trade war
Referring to tariffs imposed by the United States and the retaliatory measures announced by Canada, the European Union and others, a reporter asked the president “who comes out on top in this global tariff war?”
“Nobody. Nobody,” Sheinbaum responded.
“The objective that the United States has set out is that the United States imports too much and what they want is to produce more in their country,” she said.
“In the case of Mexico — I’m not going to refer to the rest of the world, it’s up to us to talk about Mexico — there are a lot of studies that show how investment in Mexico by a U.S. company generates three times as many jobs in the United States due to the productive integration there is,” Sheinbaum said.
“… An entire car isn’t made here, but rather, one part is made here and another is made there,” she said, adding that the same coproduction system across Mexico and the United States is also used for the manufacture of “many other products.”
“So in the case of Mexico and the United States, what is advisable for us is to continue with the trade agreement,” Sheinbaum said in reference to the USMCA.
“Review what has to be reviewed, but compete as the North American region against the rest of the world,” she said.
“… The productivity of U.S. companies will decline if they stop producing in Mexico, if it comes to that,” Sheinbaum added.
Sheinbaum: Government’s ‘different economic model’ contributes to Mexico’s low unemployment rate
A reporter highlighted that Mexico has the (equal) second lowest unemployment rate among OECD countries and asked Sheinbaum how such a situation is achieved.
“It’s part of what we’ve been speaking about — a different economic model,” the president said.
“It has to do with favoring the internal market, which is helped through the welfare program and the increase to the [minimum] wage,” Sheinbaum said.
“In other words, … if you earn 100 pesos [per day] you’re going to buy less than if you earn 500 pesos. So [welfare support and higher wages] help drive the economy from below,” she said.
“And the other thing that happened in our country was significant foreign direct investment and also investment from national businesspeople,” Sheinbaum said.
“… And the other very important thing is that public investment was reactivated. In the period of president [Andrés Manuel] López Obrador, it was the Maya Train, the interoceanic train, the [Olmeca] Refinery, the highways and water projects. They also drive private investment. There is a lot of indirect employment that is generated from public investment and that is the model we’re following,” she said.
While unemployment is indeed low in Mexico, the percentage of workers who work in the vast informal economy is very high — 54.5% in the last quarter of 2024.
Presidential playlist coming soon!
What music does Claudia Sheinbaum listen to?
That’s what one reporter tried to find out two days after the president posted a photo to social media that showed her wearing headphones as she worked on her forthcoming book.
“Normally to write, I listen to relaxing music to get my ideas flowing,” Sheinbaum said.
“… We’ll share the playlist soon,” she added.
Some MND readers might remember that former president López Obrador shared a “well-being playlist” in 2023, which we described as “decidedly wholesome” and “pretty good” in a review.
In 2024, he shared another playlist that includes all the songs he played during his six years of morning press conferences, or mañaneras.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
