Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as the first female president of Mexico, a country with pressing problems

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum will take the oath of office Tuesday Mexico's first female president In more than 200 years of independence, she, like her predecessor, promised to protect an expanded social safety net and fight for the poor, but faced pressing problems.

The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician will see a country facing a number of immediate challenges, chief among them persistent high levels of violence, a sluggish economy and more Hurricane-hit Acapulco.

Sheinbaum won in June with nearly 60% of the vote, thanks largely to the enduring popularity of her political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

He took office six years ago proclaiming: “For the good of all, first of the poor” and promising a historic change from the neoliberal economic policies of his predecessors. Sheinbaum promised continuity from his popular social policies to controversial constitutional reforms the justice system And National Guard rummaged through during his final days in office.

Despite her promise of continuity, she is a completely different personality.

“López Obrador was an extremely charismatic president and that charisma often allowed him to cover up some political mistakes that Claudia Sheinbaum would not have that opportunity to do,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a political analyst at the Mexican Center for Economic Research and Teaching. “So where López Obrador was charismatic, Claudia Sheinbaum must be effective.”

He doesn't leave her with an easy situation.

Her first trip as president will be to the flood-hit resort of Acapulco on the Pacific coast.

Hurricane Johnwhich struck last week as a Category 3 hurricane, then reemerged and struck again as a tropical storm, dumped four days of incredibly heavy rain that killed at least 17 people on the coast around Acapulco. Acapulco was devastated by Hurricane Otis in October 2023and had not yet recovered from this blow when John struck.

Sheinbaum also has to deal with the raging violence in the country Cartel-dominated northern city of Culiacanwhere factional fighting broke out within the Sinaloa cartel after drug lords Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested in the United States after flying there in a small plane on July 25.

López Obrador has long sought to avoid confrontation with Mexico's drug cartels and has openly appealed to the gangs to maintain peace among themselves. But the limits of this strategy are becoming clear in Culiacán, the capital of the state of Sinaloa, where shootings continue to erupt on the city's streets. Local authorities and even the army – which López Obrador has relied on for everything – have essentially admitted that the fighting will only end when cartel bosses decide to end it.

But that's just the latest hotspot.

Drug-related violence is increasing from Tijuana in the north to Chiapas in the south. Displacing thousands.

As Sheinbaum inherits a huge budget deficit, unfinished construction projects and a burgeoning bill for her party's spending programs – all of which could roil financial markets – perhaps her biggest looming worry is the possibility of a Donald Trump victory in the presidential election November 5th US presidential election.

Trump has already promised to impose 100 percent tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico. Although this would likely violate the current U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, there are other things Trump could do to make life difficult for Sheinbaum, including his promise of massive deportations.

The situation with its northern neighbor was already tense after López Obrador declared this Relations with the US embassy “on ice” after public criticism of the planned judicial reform.

First Lady Jill Biden struck an optimistic tone for relations with the new Sheinbaum administration, saying at a reception on Monday: “I know that under Dr. Sheinbaum's presidency will continue to build a more prosperous, safer and more democratic region – and the steps we will take in our U.S.-Mexico partnership.”

There are areas where Sheinbaum could try to take Mexico in a new direction. For example, she has a Ph.D. in energy technology and spoke about the need to deal with it Climate change. López Obrador built a huge new oil refinery and invested money in the state oil company. But its budget obligations don't give her much leeway.

Jennifer Piscopo, a professor of gender and politics at Royal Holloway University of London who has studied Latin America for decades, said Mexico's election as its first female leader was important because it showed girls that they can do it too, but can do it also create unrealistic expectations.

“Woman Firsts are powerful symbols, but they do not gain magical power,” she said. “Especially when the governance challenges are so great, expecting magical solutions overnight can also lead to great disappointment.”

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