MEXICO CITY – Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president Tuesday, promising to closely follow her popular predecessor’s political agenda.
“It is a time of transformation and it is time for women,” a grinning Sheinbaum, 62, said to cheers and applause, especially from female lawmakers.
After listing the names of many women who came before her and helped remove the barriers women have faced in Mexico across all walks of life, Sheinbaum acknowledged the hardships they have faced and reinforced her commitment to continuing the journey.
Sheinbaum made it clear she plans to maintain the state-oriented policies of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, 70, which she considers hugely successful.
“How is it that 9.5 million people were lifted out of poverty? How is it that inequalities were reduced?” she asked a packed Congress, visiting presidents and other dignitaries from 105 counties. “How is it that we have lower unemployment and a stable currency?”
She answered that it was Lopez Obrador’s “peaceful revolution,” which has sought to reverse market-friendly policies and favor Mexico’s poor and marginalized.
Challenges amid high expectations
Reviled by many middle and upper class Mexicans, Lopez Obrador remains beloved among the poor. He leaves office with nearly 70% approval in opinion polls.
Sheinbaum’s promise of “more of the same” comes as little surprise. She won office in June with nearly 60% of the vote on a platform of continuity. Her left-leaning Morena party now controls both houses of Congress and most state governments.
That political grip allowed the government to win controversial reforms last month, including changes that mandate the population election of judges at all levels within a few years.
Sheinbaum takes office facing a number of headwinds, including criminal organizations holding effective control of a third of the country or more. Many fear her six-year term could bring a return to the sort of more authoritarian, one-party rule that dominated the country in the last century.
Sheinbaum on Tuesday rejected such assessments and pledged to stay the course. She emphasized her intention to expand the social programs instituted under Lopez Obrador.
“For the good fortune of Mexico, we will continue with Mexican Humanism and the Fourth Transformation,” she said, referring to the phrases coined by López Obrador to distinguish his policies from the market-oriented governments of the past, which not only failed to lift people out of poverty but were also plagued by corruption.
Hope for a new perspective, greater dialogue
Sheinbaum’s rise to the presidency has generated high expectations among those who believe she will bring a much-needed woman’s perspective and touch to a traditionally male-dominated political landscape.
“I get so emotional just thinking about it,” said Lupe Medallo from Seaside, California. She and her husband traveled to Mexico City to witness history. “I imagine what it would be like if we had President Harris. I have no words for it.”
The watershed moment was felt on both sides of the border.
Consider Gilda Zárate González, 49, a health economist and doctor of philosophy in public health. Born in Fresno, California, Zárate González returned to Mexico as a newborn after she and her farmworker family members who lived in a single family home were deported.
Zárate González would occasionally return to the region to visit her grandmother who worked as a migrant farmworker until she permanently relocated to California’s Central Valley at the age of 24.
She said she had “mixed feelings” regarding Sheinbaum
“First, great pride with the election of the first woman president. This is a great step forward for Mexican society,” said Zárate González. Her thoughts then shifted to the plight of Mexican nationals living abroad and the need to formalize Mexican policies and cross border communication channels to inform these.
Her passion for equitable healthcare outcomes led her to a public health career that spans over two decades. However, Zárate González’s connection to her Mexican roots, which includes family still living in the country, keeps her tuned into the country’s political and social matters. The inauguration of Mexico’s first woman president is no different.
Her advice to Sheimbaum is to establish a formalized dialogue between her administration and Mexicans living abroad.
“We are contributors to the country’s economic power and for many years, for decades, we don’t feel heard. We don’t feel there is a forum in which we can express our needs and remain connected to the country,” said Zárate González.
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