Early in her Wednesday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed an incident on Tuesday in which she was inappropriately touched by a man while she was walking in the historic center of Mexico City.
Later in the mañanera, she responded to a question about a range of U.S. government actions that have a direct — and negative — impact on Mexico.
Among other issues, Sheinbaum spoke about the results of a poll that showed that her approval rating remains high early in the second year of her six-year term.
‘Mexico is nobody’s piñata’
A reporter put it to the president that it appears that the United States doesn’t want Mexico to “do well” given that the Trump administration has imposed tariffs on Mexican products, closed the southern border to Mexican cattle due to the risk of screwworm infection and revoked approval for 13 routes operated by Mexican airlines to the U.S.
Sheinbaum first said that “there will be groups there” — i.e. in the United States — “that don’t like Mexico.”
However, she then highlighted that “all the countries of the world” have been affected by actions of the second Trump administration, especially its protectionist policies.
“If the tariffs were only a thing for Mexico, there would be an issue against Mexico,” Sheinbaum said before noting that “a lot” of Mexican products can still be exported tariff-free to the United States thanks to the USMCA trade pact.
Around 80% of Mexico’s exports to the U.S. are not subject to tariffs, according to the Mexican government. Consequently, Mexico is in a better position vis-à-vis trade with the U.S. than most other countries around the world.
“Practically no country” can export the majority of their goods to the U.S. tariff-free, Sheinbaum said.
“They all have a tariff, even if it’s just 10%,” she said.
Sheinbaum also noted that her government is continuing to negotiate with its U.S. counterpart with the aim of getting a better deal on the tariffs that currently apply to Mexican steel, aluminum and vehicles.
With regard to “the screwworm issue, what we have to do is demonstrate that there is no risk,” the president said.
The United States border has been closed to Mexican cattle and certain other livestock for months because a number of New World screwworm cases have been detected in Mexico.
During a trip to Mexico this week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Reuters that “we’re still not at the point where I am comfortable opening the ports, but I think every day that goes by we get a little bit closer.”
The U.S. is not yet ready to reopen its #border to #Mexican #cattle amid an outbreak of the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, but she is pleased with Mexico’s efforts to contain the pest.https://t.co/6aGQI9Bp2z
— FarmPolicy (@FarmPolicy) November 5, 2025
She said that Mexican officials have taken the screwworm issue “very seriously,” and declared that she was “very impressed” with Sheinbaum.
However, she also said that there had been 11 cases of screwworm in Mexican states that border the U.S. in recent months, although all of those cases were contained and treated.
Sheinbaum said that Rollins told her that there was a “very serious” screwworm problem in Mexico and the United States 50 years ago, and it took 10 years to recover from it.
She said that the United States’ caution with regard to reopening the border to Mexican livestock is related to not wanting U.S. cattle to be infected with screwworm rather than “an issue related to Mexico.”
“But in any case, we say that if there is any intention [to harm Mexico], … Mexico is nobody’s piñata and Mexico must be respected,” Sheinbaum said.
‘You don’t govern for polls, you govern for people’
After noting that a recent poll conducted for the El Economista newspaper detected a 71.5% approval rating for the president, a reporter asked Sheinbaum “what factors” have been “decisive” in influencing people’s opinions about her government.
🇲🇽 Política | En octubre pasado, siete (71.5%) de cada 10 mexicanos manifestaron estar de acuerdo con la forma en que está trabajando la presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum. 👀 https://t.co/oHFwMf7M8D
— El Economista (@eleconomista) November 5, 2025
Sheinbaum cited “consistency” and “not distancing oneself from the people.”
She subsequently noted that polls yield their own results about what makes her government popular, the most notable of which is the provision of financial support for Mexican people via a range of welfare programs.
While Sheinbaum is no doubt happy to be assessed in a positive light by a majority of Mexicans — even as the country faces major challenges, including insecurity — she stressed that “you don’t govern for polls, you govern for the people.”
“And while we remain close to the people and fulfilling our commitments, the people will recognize it,” she said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
