Claudia Sheinbaum Sworn In As First Female President Of Mexico | rssama.com

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn successful Tuesday arsenic Mexico’s first female president, riding nan enthusiasm complete her predecessor’s societal programs but besides facing challenges that see stubbornly precocious levels of violence.

After a smiling Sheinbaum took nan oath of agency connected nan level of Congress, legislators shouted “Presidenta! Presidenta!” utilizing nan feminine shape of president successful Spanish for nan first clip successful complete 200 years of Mexico’s history arsenic an independent country.

The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician receives a state pinch a number of contiguous problems, besides including a sluggish economy, unfinished building programs, rising indebtedness and the hurricane-battered edifice metropolis of Acapulco.

Mexico's caller President Claudia Sheinbaum romped to triumph successful June pinch astir 60% of nan vote, propelled mostly by nan sustained fame of her governmental mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

CARL DE SOUZA via Getty Images

In her inauguration speech, Sheinbaum said that she came to powerfulness accompanied by each of nan women who person struggled successful anonymity to make their measurement successful Mexico, including “those who dreamed of nan anticipation that 1 time nary matter if we were calved arsenic women aliases men we would execute our dreams and desires without our activity determining our destiny.”

She made a agelong database of promises to limit prices for gasoline and food, grow rate hand-out programs for women and children, support business investment, lodging and rider obstruction construction. But immoderate mention of nan supplier cartels that power overmuch of nan state was little and adjacent nan extremity of nan list.

Sheinbaum offered small alteration from erstwhile President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ‘Hugs not Bullets’ strategy of addressing guidelines causes and not confronting nan cartels, isolated from pledging much intelligence activity and investigation. “There will beryllium nary return to nan irresponsible supplier war,” she said.

Sheinbaum romped to triumph successful June pinch astir 60% of nan vote, propelled mostly by nan sustained fame of her governmental mentor, López Obrador. She has pledged to proceed each his policies, moreover those that strengthened nan powerfulness of nan subject and weakened nan country’s checks and balances.

After nan inauguration, Sheinbaum appeared astatine a wide rally successful Mexico City’s colonial-era main plaza to participate successful a ceremonial involving an all-women committee representing Mexico’s astir 70 Indigenous groups.

Sheinbaum was blessed and brushed pinch herbs and incense by Ernestina Ortiz, a “spiritual guide,” who told Sheinbaum “You are a sound for each of america who had nary sound for a agelong time.” An Indigenous elder past handed Sheinbaum a woody Indigenous “staff of authority,” for illustration those carried by organization leaders.

After nan ceremony, Sheinbaum said she would push for a full prohibition connected immoderate nationalist servant being re-elected to agency — a gangly promise, fixed that her statement has now passed a rule making each judges guidelines for election. That would propose Mexico whitethorn person a caller harvest of inexperienced judges each fewer years.

Lucía Ruíz, a 42-year-old mother of three, was 1 of thousands trying to scope nan main quadrate to spot nan rally. She said she hopes Sheinbaum will beryllium capable to combat precocious rates of unit against women successful nan country.

“She is going to correspond us,” said Ruíz. “We person ever been governed by men, and they deliberation we’re incapable, but we’re not. We are nan caput of our families.”

López Obrador took agency six years agone declaring “For nan bully of all, first nan poor,” and promising humanities alteration from nan neoliberal economical policies of his predecessors. Sheinbaum promised continuity from his celebrated societal policies to arguable law reforms to the judiciary and National Guard rammed done during his last days successful office.

Despite her promise of continuity, Sheinbaum is simply a very different personality: a cautious intelligence and ideological assemblage leftist, arsenic opposed to nan outgoing president’s chummy, everyman appeal.

“López Obrador was a tremendously charismatic president and galore times that charisma allowed him to screen up immoderate governmental errors that Claudia Sheinbaum will not person that anticipation of doing,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a governmental expert astatine Mexico’s Center for Economic Research and Teaching. “So, wherever López Obrador was charismatic, Claudia Sheinbaum will person to beryllium effective.”

She will wield formidable powerfulness because López Obrador’s Morena statement controls some houses of Congress. But nan state remains profoundly polarized betwixt nan outgoing president’s extreme fans and almost one-third of nan organization who profoundly resent him.

“If we want a beardown government, nan checks and balances besides person to beryllium strong,” said guidance Sen. María Guadalupe Murguía, suggesting that an all-powerful service and unchecked ruling statement could travel backmost to haunt Mexico. “Remember,” she said, “nobody wins everything, and cipher loses forever.”

Sheinbaum is not inheriting an easy situation.

Drug cartels person strengthened their clasp complete overmuch of Mexico, and her first travel arsenic president will beryllium to nan Pacific seashore edifice of Acapulco, which was flooded past week by Hurricane John, which killed astatine slightest 17 group on nan seashore astir nan resort. Acapulco was devastated successful October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, and had not recovered from that rustle erstwhile John hit.

Sheinbaum must besides woody pinch raging unit successful nan cartel-dominated bluish metropolis of Culiacan, wherever factional fighting wrong nan Sinaloa cartel collapsed retired aft supplier lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were apprehended successful nan United States aft they flew location successful a mini level connected July 25.

López Obrador has agelong sought to debar confronting Mexico’s supplier cartels and has openly appealed to nan gangs to support nan bid among themselves, but nan limitations of that strategy person go glaringly evident successful Culiacan, nan superior of Sinaloa state, wherever weapon battles person raged connected nan city’s streets. Local authorities and moreover nan service — which López Obrador has relied connected for everything — person fundamentally admitted that nan fighting will only extremity erstwhile nan cartel bosses determine to extremity it.

But that’s only nan latest hotspot.

Drug-related unit is surging from Tijuana successful nan northbound to Chiapas successful nan south, displacing thousands.

While Sheinbaum inherits a immense fund deficit, unfinished building projects and a burgeoning measure for her party’s rate hand-out programs — each of which could nonstop financial markets tumbling — possibly her biggest looming interest is nan anticipation of a triumph for Donald Trump successful nan Nov. 5 U.S. statesmanlike election.

Trump has already vowed to slap 100% tariffs connected vehicles made successful Mexico. Though that would apt break nan existent U.S.-Mexico-Canada waste and acquisition agreement, location are different things Trump could do to make life difficult for Sheinbaum, including his promise of monolithic deportations.

Relations pinch Mexico’s bluish neighbour were already tense aft López Obrador said he was putting relations pinch nan U.S. embassy “on pause” aft nationalist disapproval of nan projected judicial overhaul.

At her inauguration, Sheinbaum boosted nan free waste and acquisition statement pinch nan United States and Canada, saying “we cognize that economical practice strengthens nan 3 nations.”

There are areas wherever Sheinbaum could effort to return Mexico successful a caller direction. For example, she has a Ph.D. successful power engineering and has spoken of nan request to reside climate change.

But connected Tuesday, she said she would headdress lipid accumulation astatine 1.8 cardinal barrels per day, which would beryllium much than what nan troubled state-owned institution presently produces. “We are going to beforehand power ratio and nan modulation toward renewable sources of energy,” she said.

Associated Press writers María Verza, Megan Janetsky and Mark Stevenson successful Mexico City contributed to this report.

Related

MexicoClaudia Sheinbaum