Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as the first female president of Mexico, a country with pressing problems

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum will take the oath of office Tuesday Mexico’s first female president in more than 200 years of independence, she promised to protect an extensive social safety net and fight for the poor, like her predecessor, but faced pressing problems.

The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician faces a country with a number of immediate challenges, chief among them persistently high levels of violence, a sluggish economy and hurricane-ravaged Acapulco.

Sheinbaum emerged victorious in June with nearly 60% of the vote, thanks in large part to the enduring popularity of her political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

He took office six years ago declaring “For the good of all, the poor first,” promising historic change from the neoliberal economic policies of his predecessors. Sheinbaum promised continuity from his popular social policies to controversial constitutional reforms the judiciary And National Guard rammed through during his final days as president.

Despite her promise of continuity, she is a very different personality.

“López Obrador was an enormously charismatic president and that charisma often allowed him to cover up political mistakes that Claudia Sheinbaum does not have the opportunity to do,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a political analyst at the Mexican Center for Economic Research and Education. “So where López Obrador was charismatic, Claudia Sheinbaum will have to be effective.”

He doesn’t give her an easy situation.

Her first trip as president will be to the flood-hit Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.

Hurricane Johanneswhich struck last week as a Category 3 hurricane and then resurfaced in the ocean and struck again as a tropical storm, causing four days of incredibly heavy rainfall that killed at least 17 people along the coast around Acapulco. Acapulco was destroyed by Hurricane Otis in October 2023and had not yet recovered from the blow when John struck.

Sheinbaum also has to deal with raging violence in the US The cartel-dominated northern city of Culiacanwhere faction fighting within the Sinaloa Cartel broke out after drug lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were captured in the United States after flying there on a small plane on July 25.

López Obrador has long tried to avoid confrontation with Mexico’s drug cartels and has openly appealed to the gangs to keep the peace among themselves, but the limitations of that strategy have become abundantly clear in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, where gun battles have raged. the streets of the city. Local authorities and even the military — which López Obrador has relied on for everything — have essentially conceded that the fighting will not end until cartel bosses decide to put an end to it.

But that’s just the latest hotspot.

Drug-related violence is on the rise from Tijuana in the north to Chiapas in the south. thousands of displaced people.

Although Sheinbaum inherits a massive budget deficit, unfinished construction projects and a rapidly rising bill for her party’s cash distribution programs — all of which could collapse financial markets — perhaps her biggest looming concern is the possibility of a victory for Donald Trump in the elections. November 5 US presidential election.

Trump has already promised to impose 100% tariffs on cars made in Mexico. While that would likely violate the current U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, there are other things Trump could do to make Sheinbaum’s life difficult, including his promise of mass deportations.

Things with his northern neighbor were already tense after López Obrador said he was putting relations with the American embassy on hold after public criticism of the proposed judicial review.

First lady Jill Biden struck an optimistic tone for relations with the incoming Sheinbaum administration, saying at a reception on Monday: “Under Dr. Sheinbaum, I know we will continue to build a more prosperous, secure and democratic region – and take the steps forward in our US-Mexico Partnership.”

There are areas where Sheinbaum could try to take Mexico in a new direction. For example, she has a Ph.D. in energy engineering and discussed the need to address this problem climate change. López Obrador built a huge new oil refinery and poured money into the state oil company. But its budget commitments do not leave it much room to maneuver.

Jennifer Piscopo, a professor of gender and politics at Royal Holloway University of London who has studied Latin America for decades, says the election of Mexico’s first female leader is important because it will show girls that they can do it too, but it can also create unrealistic expectations. .

“Women’s firsts are powerful symbols, but they do not acquire magical power,” she said. “Especially when the governance challenges are so great, expecting magical solutions overnight can also lead to major disappointments.”

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