"America does not belong to any doctrine or power."

Today, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum drew a line in the sand. In her mañanera, she invoked Benito Juárez regarding the current geopolitical climate: "Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace."

She explicitly rejected the imperial view of the hemisphere:

"The American continent belongs to the peoples of each of the countries that comprise it... That is the vision we defend and will continue to defend. Economic integration of the continent and cooperation with respect for sovereignty."

But behind these diplomatic words lies a threatening reality. Mexico is in an incredibly difficult position. The pressure is mounting, and it follows the exact logic of the "Great Power Competition" I have been analyzing.

Why is Mexico being targeted?

Partly because of the Ports (and the so-called "Dual-Use" threat): As we know from the US "securitocracy" playbooks, Washington is paranoid about Chinese commercial presence. They want absolute control over Latin American ports to deny any "dual-use" capability to "rivals." (And most likely to weaken what's known as multipolar development.) Mexico’s Pacific ports are strategic jewels they do not want sovereign nations to control.

Since 2018, MORENA governments have gradually re-nationalized key resources (like lithium and oil). The imperial logic dictates that these resources must be accessible to Western capital, not used for sovereign development.

How does Mexico prepare? Unlike Venezuela, Mexico does not have a formal government-based militia structure per se. However, it still has something: a massive, politically conscious base. MORENA also operates a political education school free for everyone. This creates a citizenry that understands exactly what is at stake.

Further, Mexico’s contingency plan for a worst-case scenario (invasion/intervention) is doctrinal guerrilla warfare, most likely executed through its Military and Guardia Nacional, backed by this mobilized populace.

I do not want to think about these scenarios. But we must be realists. The analysts and those on the ground in Mexico know that what just happened in Venezuela was a testing ground.

They know that the "loss of sovereignty" narratives used to justify intervention against Maduro are already being written for Mexico (often using the "cartels" as the pretext). They know they need to prepare right now, if not yesterday.

As Sheinbaum reminded us: Democracy is for the people and by the people, not for the doctrines of foreign powers.

It’s always darkes just before the dawn.