On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump said that he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. A great majority of the population across the world were confused. Google Maps released that they will be changing the app to say the Gulf of America. Mexico is pushing against this act. They disagree with the renaming and do not want it to happen, while society who aren’t insulted might agree with the renaming, but the public does not understand the reasoning behind this decision. The reasons for the disagreeing and is that Americans or foreign citizens find the renaming to be confusing and unnecessary. The Gulf of Mexico is rooted in the culture of Mexico. The importance of the Gulf of America is that it borders both North America and South America. Since it borders both, Trump’s reason for changing the name is for the United States to be able to control the area. The United States does the most work through the Gulf of America, and therefore, Trump said that it is ours, meaning the United States.
Even when I heard about it, I was definitely wondering the reason behind the renaming. Majority of the citizens even consider it unnecessary. Mexico will not be participating in the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico finds the renaming offensive because the name is rooted in the Mexican culture.
Trump decided since the Gulf boarders the United States that the United States should be able to control the borders.
Google Maps recently announced that they will be changing the platform to say the Gulf of America on the map. Other maps such as Apple Maps, have to not change the name of the Gulf the map on their website or app. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, asked Google Maps not to change the name, but Google Maps still decided to stay with their decision and rename it to the Gulf of America.
As of now, it is officially named the Gulf of America. Certain surrounding countries have decided to also change the name, while others individuals and countries still will be calling it the Gulf of Mexico. The big situation with this is that, unlike land, it is not owned by any country, so it can be difficult to try to rename waters. While the ownership is up for debate currently, the United States has claimed it.
Freshman Avagail Barksdale expresses a view of the benefits and difficulties of the renaming.
“I think that the renaming can cause a lot of controversy,” Barksdale said. “Also, I think that it can be good and bad in some ways. For example, the geography, a lot of people already know it as the Gulf of Mexico, but having it changed to the Gulf of America can be difficult.”