Mexico awaits Google's new response on Gulf of Mexico renaming, files lawsuit

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

Mexico announced today that it expects a new response from Google on its request to restore the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name on Google Maps before filing a lawsuit against the US tech giant.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum showed the public a letter her government received from Chris Turner, Google's vice president of government relations and public policy.

The letter states that Google will not change its policy after US President Donald Trump ordered that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of the Americas.

"We will wait for Google's response, and if it doesn't arrive, we will go to court," Sheinbaum told reporters.

As it stands, for Google Maps users in the US, the gulf is called the Gulf of the Americas, and for users in Mexico and other countries around the world, it is called the Gulf of Mexico.

Turner said in his letter that Google uses the term “Gulf of the Americas” to follow “a longstanding policy on mapping that is impartial and consistent across regions” and that the company is willing to meet directly with the Mexican government.

“While international treaties and conventions are not intended to govern how private mapping providers represent geographic terms, it is our consistent policy to consult multiple authoritative sources to provide the most up-to-date and accurate representation of the world,” Turner wrote.

Mexico claims that Google’s mapping policy violates its sovereignty, as the United States has jurisdiction over only 46 percent of the gulf, while Mexico controls 49 percent and Cuba controls five percent.

The term “Gulf of Mexico” dates back to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.

In response to Turner's letter, the Mexican authorities said they would go to court and that they "under no circumstances agree to the renaming of a geographical area in their territory under their jurisdiction." The renaming of the bay further strained already tense relations between Mexico and the United States due to Trump's threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods. The change of name of the bay also affected the political climate in the United States, with the White House banning Associated Press journalists from reporting from several events, including the Oval Office, simply because it insisted on the internationally recognized name of the bay - with the obligatory mention of the name given by Trump.