Mexico sues Google over ‘Gulf of America’ name change

MEXICO CITY: Mexico has sued Google for changing the Gulf of Mexico´s name to “Gulf of America” for Google Maps users in the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday.

“The lawsuit has already been filed,” Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference, without saying where and when it was submitted. On Thursday, US lawmakers voted in favour of the name change, turning into federal law an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in his first week in office in January.

Sheinbaum had warned Google, which is part of tech giant Alphabet, in February that she was considering legal action unless the company reversed its decision. Her government argues that Trump´s executive order on the subject only applies to the part of the continental shelf belonging to the United States

“All we want is for the decree issued by the US government to be complied with,” Sheinbaum said. “The US government only calls the portion of the US continental shelf the Gulf of America, not the entire gulf, because it wouldn´t have the authority to name the entire gulf,” she added.

In response to Trump, Sheinbaum has cheekily suggested calling the United States “Mexican America,” pointing to a map dating back to before 1848, when one-third of her country was seized by the United States. The neighbouring countries are in talks to defuse tensions over Trump´s global trade war, which has included a series of tariff announcements targeting Mexico.