Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, January 20, as president of the United States; during his first hours in office, the Republican will sign a series of executive orders, including one related to renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Earlier this month, days before Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, he announced his intention to rename this gulf to ‘Gulf of America’, sparking significant controversy, especially in Mexico.
At that time, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, rejected the proposal and emphasized that the Gulf of Mexico has been internationally recognized and registered since the 15th century, long before the existence of the United States. But can Donald Trump change the name of the Gulf of Mexico? Here’s an explanation.
Donald Trump orders to rename the Gulf of Mexico
On his first day in office, Trump will instruct the Secretary of the Interior to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, which will mean that this new name will be used in federal communications and official maps. It has not yet been specified whether this measure will also require the use of the new name in schools or in non-federal contexts.
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Why does Trump want to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico?
The gulf is one of the main areas for offshore oil extraction, a sector that Trump has promised to boost during his second term. According to the president, the name change is also fitting because the gulf encompasses U.S. territory.
“We do most of the work, so we will change the name from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, which is a beautiful and very appropriate name,” he said after his announcement on January 7.
Can Trump change the name of the Gulf of Mexico?
To rename the Gulf of Mexico, Trump would initially need approval from Mexico and Cuba, as well as evaluation and authorization from several international bodies such as the International Hydrographic Organization, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN).
Since the Gulf of Mexico hosts diverse marine and coastal habitats and ecosystems, changing the name would require legal adjustments in nautical charts, official maps, and national legislations, which would need to be amended by the involved countries.
However, it is likely that Donald Trump could achieve his goal even if other countries do not adopt the name Gulf of America. This is because the United States has mechanisms to rename places recognized by the federal government.
One such mechanism is the United States Board on Geographic Names, which ensures uniform use of geographic names in the federal government. This agency is responsible for approving or rejecting new names proposed by federal agencies, state or local governments, and the general public.
Who named the Gulf of Mexico?
After the discovery of America, Spanish cartographers began calling the oceanic basin the “Seno Mexicano” (Mexican Bay) to refer to this body of water. The term “seno” was used interchangeably with “gulf” or “bay.”
Although the gulf also borders the United States and Cuba, it was Mexico that played a central role in assigning its geographic name. The Gulf of Mexico gets its name from the vast Mexican coastline that borders it.
Trump to change the name of Mount Denali
Another name Trump plans to change is that of Mount Denali, which would return to its original name: Mount McKinley. The federal government officially named it Mount McKinley in 1917, in honor of William McKinley, the Republican president who was assassinated 16 years earlier and who has been a source of inspiration for Trump.
In 2015, President Barack Obama changed the name to Mount Denali, recognizing the indigenous name for the mountain used by the Koyukon Athabaskan people, the first inhabitants of Alaska.
What executive orders will Donald Trump sign today?
After taking office, Trump will sign several executive orders covering various topics, such as immigration, the administration of the federal workforce, as well as issues related to energy and the environment. Economic and trade matters will also be addressed, along with initiatives concerning gender, diversity, and equity and inclusion programs. Among these are the following:
- Stop the catch and release policy
- Restore the “Remain in Mexico” policy
- Rebuild the border wall
- Declare a national emergency on the border to deploy the military and put physical barriers at the border
- Further restrict asylum using Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
- Designate a series of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations
- Seek the death penalty for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants
- Eliminate the “non-binary” gender
