“Mexico doesn’t need a name that emulates another country.
None of us use it anyway,” said President Felipe Calderón during a press conference, reports Infobae America.
The Mexican President had already made a similar proposal in January 2003 when he was leader of the federal deputies of his National Action Party, but it hadn't made it to a vote.
The official name of the country is “The United States of Mexico” and was so named in 1824 after its northern neighbor’s example of democracy and freedom.
The BBC reports that almost 200 years later, the President feels that they no longer need to copy any foreign powers.
Calderón, who hands over power to Enrique Pena Nieto on Dec. 1st after finishing his six-year term, said that while the proposal is not urgent, it’s still relevant.
“It’s a matter of great importance as the name of a country has a symbolic relationship with everything: it’s people, its origins, its culture, its customs and above all with the identity of the people.”
Twitter backlash: @FelipeCalderon wants to be remembered as the president who changed the name of the country from the #UnitedStatesofMexico to #México :-)
With a just over a week to go in office, many Mexicans see this as a way to be remembered for Calderón. But the decision still rests in the hands of both houses of Congress who must vote on it, writes Red Politica for El Universal.
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