LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president on Tuesday, taking over from her mentor, the left-wing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
“It is time for change, and it is time for women,” said Ms Sheinbaum in Mexico City after her swearing-in ceremony.
The 62-year-old expressed her gratitude to her charismatic predecessor, whose popularity contributed to her decisive victory in the June election.
“It was an honour to fight with you,” she told Mr Obrador.
Several high-ranking diplomats and representatives attended the event, including the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and Jill Biden, first lady of the United States.
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Ms. Sheinbaum, who is Mexico’s first president of Jewish descent, intends to carry on Mr. Obrador’s initiatives, such as his social spending and railway expansion, while also pursuing her own priorities.
Her immediate challenge, however, is to address a natural emergency.
She is scheduled to visit Acapulco in the southern state of Guerrero on Wednesday, where Hurricane John has claimed numerous lives and submerged large areas.
Other major challenges confronting the new administration include the influence of powerful drug cartels and rising tensions over migration and trade with the United States, Mexico’s northern neighbor.
A former physicist and climate scientist, Sheinbaum has the support of Mr. Obrador’s Morena party, which holds majorities in both chambers of the Mexican Congress.
She previously served as the mayor of Mexico City and contributed to two reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body focused on assessing environmental science related to climate change.
(dpa/NAN)