Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is considering skipping a trip to Washington for the World Cup draw. This decision follows criticism from Donald Trump of the Mexican government after the Generation Z march in the Zócalo. Sheinbaum has also criticized the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean and attacks on 'narcolanchas'.
Currently, Sheinbaum has already signaled that she will not attend the World Cup opening next year at the Azteca Stadium. Another concern for the Foreign Ministry is a possible military event in Venezuela this Friday, coinciding with the draw at the Kennedy Center. In the ideal scenario, the president would only attend the draw and return to Mexico. 'Overcoming these issues and exposing herself to an awkward moment in Washington wouldn't make much sense, especially a day before the call to the Zócalo,' sources report.
So far, Sheinbaum and Trump have spoken on the phone repeatedly but have not met in person, and there have been no new attempts since the failed G7 meeting in Canada in June. Part of the president's inner circle believes it is better to maintain bilateral relations by phone, understanding that those presidents who got too close to Trump, especially on trips to the U.S., did not fare well. The recurring examples are Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government eroded after a dinner at Mar-a-Lago.
The main fear is that the Republican president or some of his officials might make some verbal misstep that could derail the meeting. The timing is also not ideal. The main factor, according to government sources, would be to avoid a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump at the White House. At the National Palace, they believe the president comes from a week of high political tension following the departure of Alejandro Gertz from the Attorney General's Office and the subsequent reappearance of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
At this time, President Claudia Sheinbaum is deciding whether to travel to Washington this Friday for the World Cup draw. All doubts are centered on avoiding a potentially thorny bilateral meeting, which would not be easy to circumvent at this moment.
