Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has urged Google to reconsider renaming the Gulf of Mexico on its maps for U.S. users. The move follows an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, who mandated the body of water be called the Gulf of America.
The renaming will only apply to users in the U.S., while the rest of the world will continue seeing the traditional name. However, Mexico insists that the U.S. has no legal authority to change the Gulf’s name internationally. Sheinbaum referenced the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which states that a nation’s sovereignty extends only 12 nautical miles from its coastline.
Google has yet to respond to media inquiries but defended its decision on social media. The company stated that it follows official government sources when updating place names and will also rename Mount Denali as Mount McKinley within the U.S.
Sheinbaum strongly opposed Google’s decision, criticising the company for following a single government’s directive to rename an international body of water. She also mocked Trump’s move, joking that Mexico might request Google to label parts of North America as “Mexican America.”
Sheinbaum previously joked about renaming North America as “América Mexicana” in response to Trump’s unilateral decision. “For us, it is still the Gulf of Mexico, and for the entire world, it remains the Gulf of Mexico,” she asserted.
The controversy raises concerns about political influence over geographical naming conventions in digital platforms.
