Mexico: “Women's hour” has sounded with the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum

Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum will become the first female president in Mexico's history on Tuesday, after an inauguration ceremony that was organized on paper and music despite a major hiccup with Spain.

Hundreds of people flocked to the central Zocalo square early in the morning to await the afternoon festivities of this day declared a holiday for all Mexicans.

“We arrived at five in the morning,” Marta Rosa Ramirez Masias, who came by bus from Leon in northern Mexico, told AFPTV. A female president “understands citizens better,” this housewife wants to believe, taking up an argument of the president-elect.

With nearly 36 million votes and 60% of the vote, Ms. Sheinbaum, buoyed by the popularity of the outgoing president, is the most elected president in the country's history.

“This is the time for women and transformation,” the trained scientist has repeated since her landslide victory under the banner of the left-wing National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party on June 2.

Ms. Sheinbaum, 62, will become Mexico's first “presidenta” – after 65 men at the head of state – by taking the oath of office at 11:01 a.m. (5:01 p.m. GMT) before the deputies and senators, gathered in Congress, according to the official program.

She will then put on the presidential sash which will be given to her by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Ifigenia Martinez, 94 years old, a left-wing activist and inspiring figure.

In July, Martinez posted a photo with Sheinbaum on X, with the caption: “It's been a long road, with many challenges, but we've been persistent. When progressive women come together, there's no stopping us.”

Outgoing Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (R) gestures in greeting after his final press conference Monday at the National Palace in Mexico City on September 30, 2024 © AFP – Alfredo ESTRELLA

The former mayor of Mexico City takes over from her mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who launched her into politics in 2000 as deputy for the environment at Mexico City City Hall.

The outgoing president leaves power with a popularity rating of over 70%, especially among modest backgrounds.

“We are grateful to the president and we have come to greet his departure,” said Jesus Morales Gonzalez from Cordoba in the state of Veracruz (southeast). “Thank you President, your six years have been a success.”

“We hope that the new president will continue to support 'the poor first' as the president said, the countryside, reforestation,” he added, echoing a slogan of the outgoing president.

Mr. Lopez Obrador leaves Ms. Sheinbaum several reforms to the Constitution, including a highly controversial one, providing for the election of judges by popular vote starting in mid-2025. The text was approved and promulgated.

Dozens of employees of the judiciary demonstrated Tuesday morning near the Chamber of Deputies, continuing a mobilization of several weeks against the reform.

– On the field on Wednesday –

US First Lady Jill Biden waves as she arrives at Felipe Angeles Airport in Zumpango, a suburb of Mexico City on September 30, 2024. The wife of US President Joe Biden will attend the inauguration of Mexico's new President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 © AFP – Rodrigo Oropeza

The wife of the American president, Jill Biden, is one of the distinguished guests at the inauguration ceremony, as are the main left-wing presidents of Latin America (Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for Brazil, Gustavo Petro for Colombia, Gabriel Boric for Chile).

On the other hand, the seat of Spain, Mexico's main European partner, will remain empty. Madrid decided to boycott the ceremony because King Felipe VI was not invited.

The left in power in Mexico accuses him of never having responded to a letter from the outgoing president asking him to recognize the “damage” caused by Spanish colonization five centuries ago.

A man walks in the rain in the Zocalo square in central Mexico City on September 30, 2024 on the eve of the inauguration ceremony of new President Claudia Sheinbaum © AFP – Alfredo ESTRELLA

After a lunch at the National Palace with her guests, Claudia Sheinbaum will participate in a popular event on the Zocalo, the largest square in Latin America, under the windows of the presidency.

Hurricanes, security, economy, relations with the United States: the hot issues will await her immediately after the festivities.

As of Wednesday, Ms. Sheinbaum is due to travel to Acapulco on the Pacific to “make an assessment” of the damage caused by Hurricane John, which left 15 people dead in the country out of her passage.

Security will be the main challenge facing the president during her term.

“If organized crime and violence remain out of control, and penetrate all sectors of society, the economy and institutions will suffer,” worries Michael Shifter, of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington.

Mexico has recorded more than 400,000 deaths and some 100,000 disappearances since former President Felipe Calderon unleashed the army against the cartels in December 2006, with the effect of multiplying criminal gangs.

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