Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as Mexico’s first female president – ​​The Island

Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as Mexico’s first female president.

Sheinbaum took over from outgoing president – ​​and close ally of the Morena party – Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during an inauguration ceremony in the country’s Congress on Tuesday.

The 62-year-old climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City will serve a six-year term ending in 2030.

Sheinbaum took the oath of office in front of lawmakers, as her supporters chanted “President!” President!” and “Long live Mexico!”

“Now is the time for transformation, now is the time for women,” Sheinbaum said.

She took office with her party holding a supermajority in the lower house of the legislature, and almost the same in the Senate, and immediately sought to reassure investors by saying investments will be safe in Mexico.

Sheinbaum will face some last-minute moves from Lopez Obrador, namely a controversial judicial overhaul in which federal judges — including those on the Supreme Court — will be chosen by popular vote. The constitutional change has agitated both advocates of judicial independence and investors.

The incoming president will also oversee the U.S. elections on Nov. 5, which could transform relations with Mexico’s top trading partner.

Later in November, she will present her administration’s first budget, which will likely provide clues as to whether Sheinbaum can deliver on her pledges to reduce the country’s widening budget deficit while reducing popular social spending and costly crime-fighting initiatives maintain the level.

That task comes at a time when Mexico’s economy, Latin America’s second-largest, is expected to see only modest growth.

Sheinbaum’s inauguration marks the culmination of a four-decade rise in Mexican politics, punctuated by her historic election as the first woman to lead Mexico City.

Sheinbaum, the daughter of academic activists, has also addressed the historic nature of her presidency.

In a social media post Monday, she unveiled a logo showing a young woman in profile raising a Mexican flag, her hair in a ponytail. The hairstyle has become something of a signature for Sheinbaum.

“A young Mexican woman will be the emblem of the Mexican government,” Sheinbaum wrote.

Mexico remains one of the most conservative countries in Latin America, with its 65 presidents since independence from Spain, all men.

As mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum built a reputation for his data-driven approach to leadership, winning widespread praise for cutting the city’s murder rate in half.

Her policy was intended to increase security spending for an expanded police force with higher salaries. She has vowed to replicate the approach across Mexico, which remains plagued by high crime rates and the outsized influence of powerful drug cartels. Critics have wondered how realistic these promises will prove to be.

At the same time, Sheinbaum has pledged to continue the policies of generous social spending, pensions and youth grants championed by her populist predecessor Lopez Obrador.

After studying energy engineering and later being asked to serve on the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Sheinbaum has tried to strike a more careful balance on environmental initiatives.

She has said she will protect the industrial dominance of Mexico’s state-owned oil and energy companies while expressing interest in a shift to renewable energy projects.

Sheinbaum shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore for her climate work.

Before that, she had been Lopez Obrador’s environmental chief when he was mayor of Mexico City. She previously served as the chief spokesperson for Lopez Orador’s failed 2006 campaign.

(Aljazeera)