HOUSTON – For decades, history books and maps have labeled the big body of water that sits off the coast of the southern United States and Mexico as the Gulf of Mexico.
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And for those decades, it really wasn’t a big problem. That is, until Tuesday at a press conference when President-elect Donald Trump told the world his plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
“We have a massive deficit with Mexico and help Mexico a lot. They’re essentially run by the cartels and can’t let that happen,” the president-elect told reporters. “Mexico is really in trouble, a lot of trouble, very dangerous place and we’re going to be announcing at a future date pretty soon we’re going to change because we do most of the work there and it’s ours. We’re going to be changing, sort of the opposite of Biden where he’s closing everything up essentially getting rid of $50 to $60 trillion worth of assets. We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America, what a beautiful name.”
But can he really do that?
The History of The Name
Naming a body of water isn’t something on single country decides on.
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Actually, the names are typically established through historical usage. For example, the Gulf of Mexico doesn’t refer to the current Mexico as we know it, but rather a indigenous cultures and later Spanish colonization.
But the name as we know it now is linked to the modern-day nation of Mexico, reflecting the geographical and historical context of the area, rather than a specific settlement.
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The name “Gulf of Mexico” is widely accepted and used in maps, documents, and by governments around the world.
If Trump is serious about changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, it would be the first widely documented instance of a government formally contesting the name of the body of water.
Who Controls The Gulf of Mexico?
It’s not an easy answer, because it comes down to U.S. States, the U.S. federal government, and other countries. That’s because no country or single entity owns the Gulf of Mexico.
Instead, it is bordered by several countries, each of which has jurisdiction over its respective territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ) within the gulf. The countries that border the Gulf of Mexico are:
- United States: The U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida have coastlines along the Gulf of Mexico.
- Mexico: Several Mexican states, including Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán, border the Gulf.
- Cuba: The northwest coast of Cuba also borders the Gulf of Mexico.
Each of these countries has rights and responsibilities over their respective portions of the gulf, including rights to natural resources, fishing, and environmental management within their territorial waters and EEZs. The international waters of the Gulf of Mexico are governed by international maritime law.
How To Change The Name
Again, this would be a complex process and it’s important to note - no other country would have to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Changing the name of a major geographical feature would typically involve a complex process, including proposals from governments or international bodies, discussions and agreements among countries that border the gulf, and possibly input from international organizations such as the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN).
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The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is responsible for standardizing geographic names throughout the federal government and can oversee name changes within the U.S.
However, any change would require widespread acceptance and usage by the international community, including updates to maps, atlases, and official documents.
