“All Countries Have the Right to Be Free”: Sheinbaum in Congratulating the US on Its Independence

ByNéstor Jiménez

This article by Néstor Jiménez originally appeared in the July 4, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Quiroga, Mich. On the anniversary of the independence of the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo sent congratulations to the American people and to their government led by President Donald Trump, while emphasizing that “all nations have the right to be free and independent.”

During a supervision of the delivery of benefits from the Mujer Bienestar program in Michoacán, held this Saturday at the Cuauhtémoc primary school, located in the town of San Jerónimo Purenchécuaro, in the municipality of Quiroga, the president recalled the commemorative date in the neighboring country to the north.

“Today marks 250 years of the independence of the United States. We send congratulations to their people and their government. And we also recall that all nations have the right to be free and independent,” said the president before those in attendance, mostly women residents of this Michoacán region.

Meanwhile, regarding the Mujeres Bienestar pension, for women aged 60 to 64, she reaffirmed that it is in recognition of the work they have done throughout their lives, while calling for the women of the country’s history to be highlighted.

“We women are the soul of the nation, which is why we must always recognize Mexican women, throughout their history and in the present,” the President emphasized.

She added that “in 2024, after the term of (Andrés Manuel) López Obrador, an even deeper change is coming to the country. Thanks to the Fourth Transformation and the struggle of women.”

She also called for “there to be no discrimination for any reason, no racism, but also no machismo in our country.”

She stressed that her goal is for every municipality in the country to have at least one Centro Libre para la Atención de las Mujeres, “where women feel safe and can go there free of charge, consult a lawyer if they need one, consult a psychologist if they need one, or simply gather with other women to read or do some activity, where they also have access to health care and are supported in everything they need.”

For his part, the governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, noted that there are 127 Centros Libre in the state, many of which were set up in Indigenous areas for direct service to the women of the original peoples.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of Wellbeing, Leticia Ramírez, explained that across Michoacán more than 146,000 women receive the Pensión Mujeres Bienestar. With this, she detailed, it is guaranteed that women aged 60 to 64 can count on that pension, and afterward go on to receive the pension for senior citizens.

In the morning, President Sheinbaum Pardo led a private event in Pátzcuaro, where she met with students from the area. Through social media, she stated that “education is a right that promotes equality. It makes it possible that the place where we are born does not determine the place we can reach. As Morelos said, education must be the same for the landowner’s son as for the laborer’s son. That profound principle is what guides us: access to education as a right, not as a privilege.”

In addition, she highlighted that in Michoacán there is already a universal scholarship system, from primary school through university.