The first female president of Mexico, the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in on Tuesday for a six-year term during which the former mayor of Mexico City will have to confront the scourge of narco-violence
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“I am a mother, a grandmother, a scientist, and a woman of faith, and from today, by the will of the people of Mexico, president,” Ms. Sheinbaum, 62, said as she became president. of the country of 129 million inhabitants.
“I do not arrive alone, we all arrive,” added the trained physicist, in a tribute to the famous or anonymous women of Mexico by taking the oath in front of the deputies and senators gathered in congress.
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In June, she won the presidential election with almost 60% of the votes under the label of the ruling left-wing party Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) and its allies.
With nearly 36 million votes, she is the best elected in the history of the country, buoyed by the popularity of the outgoing president.
Morena and his allies have a qualified majority in Parliament allowing them to modify the Constitution without opposition.
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“First the poor” or even “republican austerity”: the president has broken down her program into ten principles, based on the results of her predecessor.
During her inauguration speech, she repeated her method on the explosive issue of security and the fight against narco-violence: more information and investigations, “reinforcement of the National Guard”, more coordination between the authorities , zero impunity.
Mexico has recorded more than 400,000 deaths and some 100,000 missing since former President Felipe Calderon launched the army against the cartels in December 2006, with the effect of multiplying the number of armed mafias.
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“We are concerned about the growing role of the military in public security,” the United Nations human rights office said in a statement.
The National Guard will come under the control of Defense, according to a law promulgated by the outgoing president on Monday.
“The authorities should really redouble their efforts to tackle the issue of the missing in Mexico,” adds the UN body, welcoming the arrival of a woman at the head of Mexico.
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“No authoritarianism”
“Our government will guarantee all freedoms,” assured Ms. Sheinbaum, believing that “those who say that there will be authoritarianism are lying.”
“Be certain that the investments of national and foreign shareholders will be safe in our country,” she insisted.
The ex-mayor of Mexico City takes power in the middle of a controversy caused by a reform of the judicial power approved and promulgated by his predecessor.
An almost unique case in the world, the reform provides for the election of judges by popular vote from June 2025. The United States is concerned about the legal security of its private investments.
Mexico and the United States “share deep political, economic and cultural ties,” underlined American President Joe Biden in a message on the occasion of Ms. Sheinbaum’s inauguration.
The United States “is committed to continuing to work with Mexico,” he added, welcoming that his wife Jill Biden is at the head of the American delegation present in Mexico for the inauguration.
After her speech to Congress, President Sheinaum received her guests for lunch at the National Palace, seat of the presidency, including Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Chilean Gabriel Boric.
“Staff of power” of indigenous peoples
At the end of the lunch, she received the “staff of power” during a ceremony with indigenous peoples on the zocalo, the huge square under the windows of the national palace, in front of tens of thousands of people.
“Little sister Claudia, we welcome you with love and joy. You are the voice of those who have not had a voice for a long time,” an indigenous woman told him, against a backdrop of incense smoke and the sound of a foghorn on the Zocalo.
In her second speech of the day, Ms. Sheinbaum presented her program in 100 points.
The ex-mayor of Mexico City takes over from his mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who leaves power with a popularity of more than 70%.
Hurricanes, security, economy, relations with the United States: the hot issues await the president immediately after the festivities.
She will travel to Acapulco on Wednesday to “make an assessment” of the damage caused by Hurricane John, which left 15 dead in the country in its path, she recalled in her inauguration speech.