Mexico’s First Female President Takes Office Amid Deep Challenges and Unknowns

By Anna Gordon and Nik Popli
Updated: October 1, 2024 3:42 PM EDT | Originally published: October 1, 2024 9:30 AM EDT

Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s first ever female President and the first Jewish leader in the nation’s more than 200 years of independence.

The 62-year-old former mayor of Mexico City took the oath of office at a historic ceremony at the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro in Mexico City, with First Lady Jill Biden and the leaders of over a dozen mostly Caribbean and Latin American countries in attendance.

Sheinbaum, a lifelong leftist who campaigned on fighting for the poor, begins her six-year term at a time when the nation faces pressing problems, including spiraling organized violence, a slowing economy, and tensions with the United States, Mexico’s largest trading partner, over a controversial judicial overhaul that critics say will undermine democratic checks and balances.

Shortly after taking her oath, Sheinbaum gave a speech at the National Palace in Mexico City outlining her priorities. “It is a time of transformation, a time for women,” she said in Spanish. In her history-making speech, Sheinbaum recognized “our sisters who from their history managed to move forward and emancipate themselves... and our granddaughters, who dreamed of the possibility that one day, it would not matter whether we were born as women or men, we can realize dreams and desires without our sex determining our destiny.”

Read More: The Meaning of Mexico's First Female President

Sheinbaum will assume her role with a supermajority in Congress, alongside significant control of the country’s courts and military. However, the specter of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as A.M.L.O., looms large. He leaves office with an approval rating over 70% and a legacy tied to social policies that resonate with many Mexicans. López Obrador, who founded the left-wing Morena party that Sheinbaum represents, was first elected in 2018 and is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term.

One of Sheinbaum’s first major tests will come next month when she presents her administration’s budget. While López Obrador's welfare and social policies have gained popularity, they have contributed to a ballooning fiscal deficit that Sheinbaum will need to address. Analysts say she may depart from López Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” approach to combating organized crime that also entailed limiting cooperation with U.S. authorities.

“There are real-world reasons to believe Claudia Sheinbaum will take a different, ie better, path on public security than her predecessor, who had his virtues — but not on this issue,” Brian Winter, the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, wrote in a post on X.

A former climate scientist, Sheinbaum also brings a strong commitment to environmental issues. She shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for her work with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and has advocated for sustainable development and renewable energy initiatives. Sheinbaum has pledged to protect Mexico’s state-owned oil and power companies while simultaneously promoting a transition toward cleaner energy sources.

Sheinbaum takes office just one month before a tight U.S. election where Mexico and the migrant crisis at the border have taken center stage. Negotiations surrounding the free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada are set for renewal in 2026, making the outcome of the U.S. elections pivotal for Sheinbaum’s administration. The economic ties between the two nations are profound, with approximately 80% of Mexico's exports coming to the U.S.

—With reporting by Solcyré Burga/New York