The former mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, will become the first woman president in the history of Mexico on Tuesday, after an inauguration ceremony settled on paper despite a media quarrel with Spain.
Hundreds of people flocked to the central square of the Zocalo in the morning to await the afternoon festivities of this day declared a public 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 more”, this housewife wants to believe, taking up an argument from the elected president.
With nearly 36 million votes and 60% of the votes, Mme Sheinbaum, buoyed by the popularity of the outgoing president, is the best-elected president in the country’s history.
“It’s the time for women and transformation,” this trained scientist has repeated since her overwhelming victory under the label of the left-wing Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) on June 2.
Mme Sheinbaum, 62, will become Mexico’s first “presidenta” — after 65 men at the head of state — by taking the oath at 11:01 a.m. (1:01 p.m. ET) in front of deputies and senators, gathered in Congress, according to the official program.
She will then gird the presidential sash which will be given to her by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Ifigenia Martinez, 94, a left-wing activist and inspiring figure.
In July, Mme Martinez had posted a photo with M on Xme Sheinbaum, with this comment: “The road has been long, with many challenges, but we have been persistent. When progressive women unite, there is nothing stopping us.”
The former mayor of Mexico City takes over from her mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who launched her into politics in 2000 as environment deputy at Mexico City City Hall.
The outgoing president leaves power with a popularity of more than 70%, especially among modest circles.
“We are grateful to the president and we have come to greet his departure,” said Jesus Morales Gonzalez, who came 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 “first the poor” as the president said, the countryside, reforestation,” he adds, taking up a slogan of the outgoing president.
Mr. Lopez Obrador leaves a legacy to Mr.me Sheinbaum several reforms to the Constitution, including one very controversial, providing for the election of judges by popular vote from 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.
From Wednesday on the ground
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 headquarters of Spain, Mexico’s first 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.
After 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 him immediately after the festivities.
From Wednesday, Mme Sheinbaum must go to Acapulco on the Pacific to “make an assessment” of the damage caused by Hurricane John which left 15 dead in the country in its path.
Security will be the main challenge faced by the president during her mandate.
“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 missing since former President Felipe Calderon launched the army against the cartels in December 2006, with the effect of multiplying criminal gangs.