Sheinbaum breaks her US midterm silence for one candidate: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds 👏 Sheinbaum applauds likely election of Xavier Becerra as California governor: Asked about Becerra, the Mexican-American Democratic Party candidate who would become California’s first elected Latino governor if he wins Tuesday’s election, Sheinbaum broke into applause. She noted that around 39 million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans live in the United States and said it is “very good” for them to be politically represented. Polls indicate Becerra is likely to easily beat Republican Steve Hilton. 🗳️ Sheinbaum says Mexico will respect US midterm result, declines to comment on races: Asked what a Democratic takeover of both houses of the U.S. Congress would mean for Mexico, especially for the USMCA, Sheinbaum said it’s “not our place to comment.” She said Mexico will wait for the result and respect it, whatever it is. 🏝️ Sheinbaum says IBWC must decide who Rio Grande islands belong to: Responding to Texas’ claim to nine islands along the border, Sheinbaum said it is not up to the Texas government to decide who owns them, but rather a decision for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). She said she believed Texas’ determination was electorally motivated ahead of the midterms. Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in an Oct. 30 statement that the border “cannot be modified by a decision of a state government.” Why today’s mañanera matters President Sheinbaum held her Tuesday morning press conference as U.S. citizens were going to the polls in the midterm elections. A Mexican-American is projected to win one of the most important political offices in the United States — the governorship of California — and Sheinbaum welcomed that prospect. Thank you, California. When we started, we were underdogs. But you believed in us, made calls, and showed up at every stop. Farm workers and firefighters, teachers and tradesmen, small business owners and service workers: this campaign belongs to you. Tomorrow is Election Day. Let’s finish this together. Vote! — Xavier Becerra (@XavierBecerra) November 3, 2026 However, she declined to express an opinion on the U.S. congressional races and their possible outcomes, in contrast to her willingness to comment on the California gubernatorial election. According to an opinion article by Duncan Wood and Ivan Zapien that was published by The Hill last month, the midterms “could give Mexico more allies in Washington who value a stable North American partnership, but “could also give its critics more platforms from which to demand change.” The elections are taking place at a time when Mexican and U.S. officials continue trade talks aimed at resolving a range of differences that contributed to the Trump administration’s decision to not renew the USMCA free trade pact for an additional 16 years. Trade differences are one source of tension in the Mexico-U.S. relationship, but they are by no means the only one. Another source of potential tension arose last week when Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) had identified nine islands along the Texas-Mexico border as property belonging to the State of Texas. Sheinbaum commented on the matter on Tuesday morning, adding another bilateral issue to a press conference that covered current events north of the Rio Grande. Sheinbaum applauds likely election of Xavier Becerra as governor of California A reporter noted that Xavier Becerra, the Democratic Party’s candidate in today’s gubernatorial election in California, will become the state’s first elected Latino governor if he wins. She asked the president for her opinion on the matter. Sheinbaum’s first reaction was to break into applause. 🇺🇸 La presidenta de México, Claudia Sheinbaum, aplaude la candidatura de Xavier Becerra por la gobernatura del estado de California https://t.co/SA55sdBgNG — EL PAÍS México (@elpaismexico) November 3, 2026 She subsequently noted that around 39 million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans live in the United States and declared that it is “very good” for them to be politically represented. Becerra, a former state and federal lawmaker who served as attorney general of California before becoming secretary of health and human services in the Biden administration, is Mexican-American. He was born in Sacramento in 1958 to Maria Teresa and Manuel Becerra. According to a biography of Becerra on the U.S. House of Representatives website, Manuel was born in Sacramento but grew up in Tijuana, while Maria Teresa was raised in Guadalajara. Becerra’s Republican Party opponent in today’s election is Steve Hilton, a British-born former Fox News host. Polls indicate that Becerra is likely to beat Hilton easily. California had a Latino governor for around nine months in 1875, but Romualdo Pacheco wasn’t popularly elected. Sheinbaum on US midterms: ‘We’re going to respect the result whatever it is’ A reporter raised the possibility of the Democratic Party taking control of both houses of the U.S. Congress. She asked the president what that would mean for Mexico, especially in relation to the USMCA free trade pact. “We don’t express an opinion,” Sheinbaum responded. “The election is today. It’s not our place to comment today,” she said. “… We’re going to wait for the result and we’re going to respect the result whatever it is,” Sheinbaum said. Asked about “seven or eight Mexicans” accused of voting in the midterms despite not being U.S. citizens, the president said she wasn’t aware of the charges. She said Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco could provide information about the matter. Sheinbaum: IBWC must decide who Rio Grande islands belong to Asked about Texas’ claim to nine islands in the Rio Grande, Sheinbaum said that it was not up to the government of Texas to decide who owns them. Rather, it’s a decision for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IWBC), she said, referring to the binational body tasked with applying the boundary and water treaties between the United States and Mexico and settling differences that may arise in their application. Texas says the above islands are state property. Mexico’s President Sheinbaum says it’s not up to them to decide. (Texas General Land Office) The IWBC has to determine whether the islands are on the Mexican or U.S. side of the border, Sheinbaum said. “If it’s half and half, it’s half and half,” she said. Sheinbaum said she believed the determination by Texas that the islands belong to that state was electorally motivated ahead of today’s midterms. In Oct. 26 letters to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department, Buckingham, the Texas land commissioner, noted that the GLO had determined that nine Rio Grande islands belonged to the state of Texas. She said the GLO had “not been alerted to criminal activity on these … islands,” but added that “previous experience has demonstrated the exploitation of border islands by cartels and smugglers.” Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said in an Oct. 30 statement that the border between Mexico and the United States “cannot be modified by a decision of a state government.” The SRE said that the “limits of the border are defined by criteria established in an international treaty,” adding that the IBWC “is the body both governments have empowered to apply the Treaty and determine on which side of the boundary each island lies.”