Every day, President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning presidential press conference and Mexico Solidarity Media posts English language summaries. Previous press conference summaries are available here.
Trade Relations with the United States
The Mexican Government welcomed Washington’s decision to eliminate tariffs on Mexican auto parts, the result of the dialogue between President Sheinbaum and President Trump. Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard noted that this decision reflects the trust and respect achieved in the bilateral relationship.
He pointed out that meetings with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick have reaffirmed the deep integration of the automotive industry, which mobilizes multi-million dollar investments. Auto parts exports total US$70 billion and thanks to the USMCA rules of origin, remain tariff-free.
New Unilever investment in Mexico
Willem Uijen, director of Unilever, announced an investment of 30 billion pesos (US$1.53 billion) in Mexico between 2025 and 2028 to increase its factories’ production capacity. Of this amount, 8 billion pesos (US$410 million) will be allocated for the start-up of a plant in Nuevo León, which will generate 1,200 direct jobs. The rest will be invested in plants located in the State of Mexico and Morelos.
Mexico’s Economic Strength
President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted that investment commitments from domestic and foreign companies place Mexico in a favorable economic position. She pointed out that the current investment portfolio exceeds US$200 billion.
Sheinbaum noted that the economic model of the Fourth Transformation does not generate inflation and has contributed to the wellbeing of the population, with a reduction in poverty and inequality, greater investment, higher salaries, fairer labor conditions, and the strengthening of national production.
She also explained that Plan Mexico seeks to strengthen production for the domestic market and promote exports.
Promotion of Culture and Books
Paco Ignacio Taibo II, director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE) publishing house, reported that since 2019 the FCE has produced 21 million books and sold 24 million. He also noted the consolidation of a historical catalog of 15,000 titles as well as the existence of 21,118 FCE reading rooms throughout the country.
Ignacio Taibo also announced the 25 for 25 collection, which will give away 2.5 million books to young people in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. This project, coordinated with publishers and state governments, will be presented by the end of 2025.
During the press conference, the President mentioned that her two favorite books are Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude and Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Historical Memory and Human Rights
A video was presented documenting the repression and human rights violations committed during Ernesto Zedillo’s presidency, including the Aguas Blancas and Acteal massacres.
It was also recalled that between 1988 and 1997, during the Salinas de Gortari and Zedillo administrations, a systematic persecution was waged against the opposition, particularly against members of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which resulted in the murder of more than 600 members of that party. These crimes were never solved.
Sheinbaum stressed that, while today she is accused of authoritarianism for promoting the judicial elections, it is essential to remember the times when there was true authoritarianism linked to the repression of the people.
Privatizing the CFE Would Have Been a Mistake, as in Spain
President Sheinbaum pointed out that the recent blackout in Spain was attributed by its own president to private companies, responsible for the electricity system following the industry’s privatization.
President Claudia Sheinnbaum recalled that in Mexico, in 1999, Ernesto Zedillo tried to privatize the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), but mobilizations prevented it. She warned that, had it been carried out, we would be facing similar blackouts today.