A statement attributed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is spreading widely on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and X. The statement, which is directed at President Donald Trump, explains that the rest of the world is ready to boycott America.
“So, you voted to build a wall,” the statement begins. “Well, dear Americans, even if you don’t understand much about geography, since for you America is your country and not a continent, it is important for you to know, before the first brick is laid, that there are 7 billion people beyond that wall.”
The text goes on to explain that global consumers can replace American products like Apple smartphones or Levi’s jeans with products made by foreign competitors and that America will be crippled economically by the rest of the world. “We know, for example, that if these 7 billion consumers don’t buy their products, there will be unemployment and their economy will collapse (within the racist wall) to such an extent that they will beg us to tear down this ugly wall,” the statement concludes. “We didn’t want to, but…. You want a wall, you get a wall.”
The posts are false: There is no evidence that Sheinbaum made those comments.
Google searches for the statement in both English and Spanish reveal no reliable media reports of Sheinbaum saying or writing the words, and there is no evidence of the statement on Sheinbaum’s personal social media or in official Mexican government press releases.
Rather, the statement originated in 2017 as an anonymous copypasta—a block of text that is copied and shared widely online. Spanish-language versions of the post began circulating on January 27, 2017, a week after Trump’s first inauguration. English translations of the post started to spread shortly thereafter. At the time, the posts were not attributed to Sheinbaum, who only assumed the office of president in October 2024, but instead to “The rest of the world.”
Sheinbaum and Trump have clashed in recent weeks over a flurry of tariffs proposed by the White House. Following conversations with Sheinbaum, Trump elected to pause the tariffs in exchange for Sheinbaum’s promise to deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers to assist in policing fentanyl trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border.
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