Mexico's first woman president sworn in

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum celebrates inauguration — Claudia Sheinbaum is the first woman and first Jewish person to ever lead the country (Image credit: Carl De Souza / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

Mexico's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, took office Tuesday, becoming the first woman and first Jewish person to lead the country. The a 62-year-old environmental engineer and former Mexico City mayor was sworn in for her six-year term at a ceremony in Mexico's Congress.

Who said what

"It's time for transformation, it's time for women," Sheinbaum said, flanked by women soldiers. "I'm a mother, a grandmother, a scientist and a woman of faith, and from today, by the will of the Mexican people, the president." Hundreds of people changed "Presidenta!" — the feminine form of her new title — as she was handed the red, white and green presidential sash by Ifigenia Martinez, president of the Chamber of Deputies.

Sheinbaum, who "grew up in a Jewish intellectual family" and holds a PhD in energy engineering, is "more cerebral and less folksy than her charismatic predecessor" and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, The Washington Post said. She won in June elections with the "largest margin of victory since Mexico transitioned to democracy" and an "effective supermajority" in Congress, The New York Times said, but she isn't a "transcendent political talent" like López Obrador, and there are "questions over how much influence" he will "exert over his protégé."

What next?

Sheinbaum offered 100 pledges at a celebration yesterday afternoon at Mexico's Zócalo plaza, including expanding health care and enacting reforms to battle violence against women, Reuters said. But she takes office with "the largest budget deficit since the 1980s and lagging economic growth," as well as growing cartel violence.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.