Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called out to her country Monday night, becoming the first woman to lead the traditional Mexican Independence Day chant over Mexico City’s main square.
El Grito is the traditional call to arms repeated across Mexico near midnight on the eve of Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16, commemorating the start of the War of Independence in 1810.
Thousands gathered in Mexico City’s Zócalo to chant the famous words 215 years later.
In addition to the names of the war heroes traditionally included in El Grito, Sheinbaum added chants for the “unsung heroines,” indigenous women and “migrant brothers and sisters.”
Her final coda — “long live a free, independent and sovereign Mexico” — are words Sheinbaum regularly uses when pushing back against President Donald Trump.
Sheinbaum’s first year in office has been marked by her ability to appease Trump and avoid heightened tariffs, while also showing Mexican voters she is able to protect their independence. She has enjoyed approval ratings of higher than 70% in most polls since her inauguration last October.
