Ultimately, President Sheinbaum’s warning is a call for a return to a “zone of peace” built on mutual respect and the peaceful settlement of disputes.22 She is betting that principles will ultimately prove more durable than pressure. In the long winters of geopolitical crisis, Mexico is positioning itself as the voice of conscience, reminding its neighbors that intervention has never brought lasting democracy or stability to the region.23 The real test in the coming months will not be found in the courtrooms of New York where Maduro may face trial, but in the diplomatic corridors of Mexico City and Brasília. The question remains: will the hemisphere accept a new status quo of intervention, or will the red line drawn by Mexico inspire a collective reassertion of Latin American independence? For Claudia Sheinbaum, the answer is found in the history of her people—a history that dictates that only the residents of a nation have the right to determine its future.
