All 32 state education ministers already approved shorter school year, Sheinbaum says: Monday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

• 🏫 Sheinbaum defended Education Minister Mario Delgado over his controversial announcement that the school year would end on June 5, saying the decision was unanimous among all state education ministers — not Delgado’s idea. Education ministers were meeting on Monday to reconsider the plan.

• 🇺🇸 The president effectively ruled out a U.S. military operation to extract Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, who U.S. prosecutors accuse of drug trafficking. Sheinbaum said such an action “mustn’t happen” and “we don’t believe it will happen,” while confirming Rocha remains in Sinaloa.

• 🚢 Mexico dispatched a new humanitarian aid shipment to Cuba, with Sheinbaum reaffirming solidarity with the island and opposition to the longstanding U.S. embargo.

Why today’s mañanera matters

At her Monday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum commented on the highly controversial announcement last week that the 2025-26 school year would end almost six weeks early on June 5. She defended her education minister, Mario Delgado, saying that the plan to end the school year early — a plan that looks set to be scrapped later on Monday — was not his idea. Her defense of the minister was notable as Delgado stood firmly behind the shortened school schedule, even after Sheinbaum had expressed her dissatisfaction with the plan.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was the president’s remarks effectively ruling out the possibility that U.S. forces could come to Mexico to try to arrest Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya and take him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

Sheinbaum has said on numerous occasions that U.S. authorities have provided insufficient proof to warrant the arrest of Rocha and nine other Sinaloa-based current and former officials, including a Morena party senator and the mayor of Culiacán.

Rocha, who is currently on leave, denies the accusations against him, including allegations that he colluded with the “Los Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Sheinbaum: Decision to end school year early was ‘unanimous’

Sheinbaum highlighted that education ministers from all 31 states and Mexico City approved the modified school calendar announced by federal Education Minister Mario Delgado last Thursday.

Delgado announced that the school year would end on June 5 rather than July 15 due to the staging of the FIFA men’s World Cup in Mexico and hot weather. Sheinbaum subsequently called the decision a “proposal” amid widespread criticism of the plan, and Delgado announced that another review of the school calendar would take place Monday — i.e., today.

Mexico’s week in review: Díaz Ayuso’s tour ends early, Washington tests new pressure tactics and school year left in limbo

On Monday morning, Sheinbaum noted that some governors expressed their opposition to the plan to end the school year on June 5.

“They have the right to say they don’t agree, but their education ministers approved it,” she said.

“… It wasn’t Mario’s idea, but a request of many teachers and parents. … There was a campaign against Mario, but the truth is it was a unanimous decision of all of the country’s education ministers,” Sheinbaum said.

She noted that education ministers would meet again on Monday morning to reconsider the decision announced last week.

“They proposed very long vacations. The proposal now is to keep six weeks of vacations [as originally scheduled]. … We’re going to wait for the decision,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum acknowledges Rocha’s former house was shot up 

Sheinbaum acknowledged that a home where Rubén Rocha Moya previously lived was riddled with bullets on Saturday.

“[He lived there] 10 years ago. … It was abandoned,” she said of the house in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa.

Asked whether the government was aware of Rocha’s whereabouts, Sheinbaum said he is in Sinaloa.

“There is a lot of propaganda. … It is propaganda, not information,” she said, referring to speculation that the governor has left the state.

“We have to differentiate between information and propaganda. There are newspapers in Mexico that dedicate themselves to political propaganda,” Sheinbaum said.

On social media, “there is a lot of propaganda and a lot of lies,” she added.

Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum was asked whether her government sees a “risk” that U.S. forces could come to Mexico and “extract” Rocha, given Mexican authorities’ apparent reluctance to extradite the governor.

“We don’t believe this will happen. It mustn’t happen, but we don’t believe it will happen,” the president said.

Mexico sends new shipment of aid to Cuba 

Asked what else Mexico can do to reduce the suffering of the Cuban people, Sheinbaum responded that her government is “going to continue sending humanitarian aid” to the Caribbean island nation.

“In fact, a ship is leaving today,” she said.

“Mexico will always be fraternal and show solidarity with all the nations of the world, and particularly with Cuba,” Sheinbaum said.

“We believe in people’s right to self-determination … and we’ve never agreed with … the [U.S.] embargo against Cuba,” she said.

Mexico has sent various shipments of humanitarian aid to Cuba this year, but stopped shipping oil to the Communist-run nation after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to Cuba. The people of Cuba are currently experiencing extreme hardship amid a U.S. blockade on oil shipments to the country.