When Google announced that it would comply with US President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, many Mexicans were left unimpressed. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum shrugged off the decision, pointing out that Trump’s order only applies to the US continental shelf and that her country would not abide by it, saying, “The Gulf of Mexico is still the Gulf of Mexico.”
Many Mexicans, both online and offline, shared humorous responses to Trump’s move, poking fun at what they call his “obsession” with their country and the unorthodox nature of his decision. Social media users shared images and memes, and even joked that the name change was a tribute to the popular Mexican football team, Club América.
However, not everyone is laughing. Legal expert Mario Melgar-Adalid opined in an editorial for the Mexican newspaper El Universal that Mexico should push back against the move, warning that if the country doesn’t, the next step could be that the United Mexican States (Mexico’s formal name) will be changed to “Old Mexico.”
Mexican coastal state Governor Rocío Nahle rejected Trump’s move, writing on social media, “Today and always… for 500 years it has been and will continue to be our rich and great ‘Gulf of Mexico’.” Local residents shared similar sentiments, calling the move “absurd” and “childish.”
Moreover, Google clarified that the name change would only be applied in the United States, and users in Mexico would still see the “Gulf of Mexico” on their maps. Meanwhile, the rest of the world would see both names. Trump’s order came as part of a broader package of name changes, including renovating the nation’s highest mountain, Denali, back to Mount McKinley.
Mexican President Sheinbaum herself responded with ridicule at the time, presenting a 1607 map that labeled parts of North America as “Mexican America” and dryly proposing that the gulf should be renamed as such, uttering, “It sounds nice, no?”
