Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stood under the enormous Mexican flag of a military facility in Mexico City. It was flag day last month, and she used her speech, figuratively and literally, as an opportunity to gather it.
“Mexico must be respected,” she said. We know that when our people unite around their history, their nations and their flags, there is no power in a world that can destroy their spirits. ”
Times have changed, she said: Mexico will not resign to a foreign government.
Given the circumstances, the Mexican president's sudden tariffs came into effect in the first few minutes of Tuesday – Sinbaum's optics were in place. Trump once again targeted Mexico and used tariff hammers as a bargaining tool to enhance Mexican sense of nationalism.
The Mexican government and businesses have rekindled their “Made in Mexico” campaign. While some Mexicans are looking to boycott American companies and products, other Mexicans have compiled a list of Mexican shops and brands they support on behalf of American companies.
Sinbaum is frequently featured on the homepage of local newspapers in front of members of the country's military and in front of giant Mexican flags. Private companies have taken out nationalistic ads. The president led the masses and said, “Mexico United, never lost!”
And Sinbaum, who is trying to balance Mexican drumbeats while advocating a collaborative dialogue with American officials, has seen her approval rating rise to 80%, according to one poll. Not only did she take over popular president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, she also shaped Mexican politics and was her leader, but became her own during the global upheaval under Trump.
“We have a lot of support for the president right now,” said Juan Manuel Sanchez, 57, a craftsman from Mexico City, praised Sinbaum's crackdown on drug trafficking.
During his first term, Trump renegotiated the North American free trade agreement he signed in 2020 and used tariffs to attack the new US-Canada agreement.
A month ago, Trump signed an executive order calling for a 25% tariff on Mexican imports. But less than a day before they were put into effect, Trump and Sinbaum spoke on the phone and announced an agreement to delay them for 30 days.
Under the terms of that contract, Mexico has posted an additional 10,000 Mexican National Guard troops on the border to stem the flow of fentanyl and immigrants to the United States. In return, Sinbaum said the US government will work to stop the flow of guns to Mexico.
Since Trump took office in January, the number of migrant crossings on the tropical border has dropped to one unthinkable level, but Mexican officials had significantly blocked immigration to the US a few months ago. Last week, Mexico sent nearly 30 cartel operatives to the United States that American authorities had hoped for.
“There's a lot of unity within the country in the face of what's going on,” Sinbaum said hours before tariffs came into effect Monday, including Trump's economic threat.
Trump claimed tariffs would begin the next day on Monday, but Mexico's clouds from the north have been looming since his latest presidential campaign. It led to uncertainty and frustration, but it also increased the pride of the people.
Agustin Barrios Gomez, a former Mexican lawmaker and founding member of Mexico's Mexican Council on Diplomatic Relations, said even Mexicans who did not vote for Shainbaum “understand that Mexico's national interests – beyond party politics – will gather around the president.”
Barrios Gomez said one reason for the surge in supporting her is to ensure that Sinbaum has sufficient political capital in the country.
Barrios Gomez said nationalism is complicated in Mexico. Because it is very complicated with the United States, geographically, culturally, economically, and with immigration and security.
“We're roommates, not neighbours,” he said. In other words, analysts said US tariffs on Mexico would hurt both economies, similar to the mutual tariffs that Sinbaum suggested. (Trump also threatens a 25% tariff on global steel and aluminum imports that affect Mexico.)
In Mexico, they haven't reached a turning point against the US, Barrios Gomez said late last week before tariffs came into effect, but said, “If you call someone enough of your enemies, you might turn them into one.”
The ghost of a national trade war has changed Trump's perception of Mexico and his relations with the United States.
According to Mexican voting firm Buendía & Marquéz, the number of Mexican respondents who believed Sinbaum and Trump's relationship had dropped significantly between at least last November and February, but the number of respondents with negative opinions rose 80% from 66% in early January to 80%.
Nevertheless, Trump praised Sinbaum as a “great woman” while laughing at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau, who is increasingly popular at home, has been in office on his last day, with Sinbaum's popular foundation stronger. She was overwhelmed by the election last summer and began her six-year term in October.
At her Monday morning press conference, Sinbaum once again called for a gentleman ahead of Trump's tariff deadline, and although she hoped to make a last minute deal, it didn't happen. “Obviously, I don't want to have tariffs,” she said, adding that her government will respond.
Even before Trump took office, her administration has promoted what is called “Plan Mexico.” It aims to diversify the economy, reduce dependence on the US, stimulate Mexico's production and drive it to become one of the top 10 economies in the world. (It is currently the 15th largest according to the International Monetary Fund.)
As part of that effort, Sinbaum's administration launched a “Made in Mexico” drive. This drive has official seals on products made in countries that meet certain requirements. The sticker containing an illustration of the Mexican Eagle was created in 1978 to promote Mexican goods and has been revived by the President over the years.
With the threatened US tariffs suspended a month ago, Mexican economic secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the government wants to push forward with the “Mexican made in Mexico” sticker again.
Last week, Walmart Mexico, the country's largest private employer with 200,000 workers, announced its efforts to place the “Maid Mexico” sticker in the aisles of 3,000 stores nationwide, using the phrase “prideful.” Walmart is an American brand, but Javier Treviño, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Walmart Mexico, wants to show customers that the company is a Mexican entity and that most of the products it sells are made domestically.
“This campaign is very important to us because the environment is not easy, and the environment is not easy, so we have to make sure our economy grows,” Trevinho, a former Mexican MP, said in an interview.
Other big companies have joined Sheinbaum's push, including Grupo Modelo, the coronavirus-producing brewing giant.
On Saturday, Mexico City artisan Sanchez was in a nearby market. Before Trump's tariffs came into effect, he said he might consider boycotting American companies and products if that were the case.
Unlike Canada, where locals have shunned American products and bought more Canadian flags since Trump threatened tariffs, Sanchez said Mexicans are already nationalist and most have flags.
“But when something very serious happens here,” he said, “We all come together.”
Maria Abi Habib Contributed with a report from Mexico City.
