Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly labeled the siege on the Gaza Strip as a “genocide,” a significant evolution in her administration’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This pronouncement places Mexico at odds with the United States, which has traditionally maintained strong support for Israel.
Sheinbaum faced increasing demands from her leftist coalition to take a firmer stance against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where reports indicate that at least 65,000 individuals have lost their lives due to the ongoing conflict, and over half a million are facing famine.
During her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum asserted that Mexico aligns itself with the international community in efforts to stop the violence in Gaza, which has sparked a broader conversation within the international community about the nature of the conflict.
Her comments coincided with discussions happening at the United Nations General Assembly, where several nations including France, Britain, Canada, and Australia have formally recognized Palestine as a state.
Mexico has a long history of supporting Palestinian statehood, a position reaffirmed by Sheinbaum’s recent remarks.
At 63, Sheinbaum is the first Jewish president of Mexico, a predominantly Catholic nation.
Despite her Jewish background, she commonly reflects on politics and policy without emphasizing her ethnicity.
Once an activist, Sheinbaum has maintained a commitment to the Palestinian cause for many years.
In 2009, she publicly condemned Israel’s actions during a previous conflict in Gaza, reflecting her long-standing positions.
“Many of my relatives… were exterminated in concentration camps,” she noted in a past letter, evoking the atrocities of the Holocaust to highlight the gravity of the situation in Gaza.
Sheinbaum emphasized, “I can only watch with horror the images of the Israeli bombing of Gaza” and declared that nothing can justify the loss of innocent lives, particularly children.
The current escalation in violence followed the actions of Hamas fighters, who in 2023 breached a border fence surrounding Gaza, leading to the deaths of over 1,000 Israelis, predominantly civilians.
In response, Israel has launched a substantial military campaign targeting Gaza by air, land, and sea, which has resulted in massive displacement, with nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million inhabitants forced to flee their homes.
Since taking office, Sheinbaum has consistently advocated for a cease-fire and highlighted her support for a two-state solution, but her latest remarks categorizing the situation in Gaza as genocide represent a notable change in rhetoric.
This shift could be seen as an effort to address mounting tensions within her political coalition while also marking a divergence from the United States’ position, which has historically been strongly pro-Israel.
The United States has been a leading provider of military assistance to Israel since World War II, funding both military operations and aid—economic considerations that Sheinbaum must navigate carefully due to the reliance of the Mexican economy on trade with the U.S.
Her comments come at a time when there is a growing international consensus regarding the actions of Israel, with prominent voices including the International Association of Genocide Scholars asserting that Israel’s actions in Gaza qualify as genocide, as per the definitions established in the United Nations convention.
Similarly, a recent U.N. commission has reported that Israel’s actions constitute genocidal acts aimed at the Palestinian population in Gaza.
However, Israeli officials have dismissed these claims as unfounded, continuing to assert their position amid the heightened international scrutiny.
image source from：latimes
