MEXICO CITY – Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as President of Mexico on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to lead the country, the United States’ largest trading partner.
Her inauguration begins a six-year term during which she will have enormous influence over everything from the number of immigrants arriving at the U.S. border to the price of avocados in U.S. grocery stores. , will steer Mexico’s vital relationship with its northern neighbor.
But she takes the helm with one major uncertainty. It’s about who will be at the negotiating table. Kamala Harris is a leftist like me, but who supports diplomacy? Or is it Donald Trump, whose populism and tariff rants pose a huge risk to Mexico?
Andrew Selly, director of the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, said Mr. Sheinbaum “has long wanted to confront his docile neighbor to the north.” “Sheinbaum was really born out of a lifelong dedication to the left in Latin America. It would be difficult for her to get along with Donald Trump.”
Who is Claudia Sheinbaum?
Mr. Sheinbaum’s election broke barriers. Mexico’s first female leader is also the country’s first president of Jewish ancestry, in a country with Spanish colonial roots that is Catholic and where millions of people venerate the Virgin of Guadalupe. All four of her grandparents were Jewish immigrants to Mexico, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Mr. Sheinbaum, 62, is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist and former resident of Mexico City, Mexico’s political and cultural capital with more than 9 million people in a metropolitan area of โโmore than 22 million people. He is the mayor.
She heads the political party “MORENA”, founded by her political leader and predecessor Andres Manuel Lรณpez Obrador, and his generous financial support, including for the elderly and the unemployed. It is loved by many Mexicans who benefit from the program.
Mr. Sheinbaum won a landslide victory in Mexico’s presidential election in June and is expected to continue Mr. Lรณpez Obrador’s political project.
She enjoyed widespread support during the honeymoon period between the election and Inauguration Day. A recent poll by Mexico City-based Buendรญa y Marquez found that two-thirds of Mexicans reported having a favorable opinion of Sheinbaum, with four of those surveyed reporting Three people answered: They expect the country to do as well or better than it has in the past six years.
Mr. Sheinbaum’s inauguration ceremony was held at the National Capitol Building, known as San Lazaro, in Mexico City.
Read more: Mexico elects first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum declares victory in historic election
Election 2024: What’s at stake for Mexico?
Once he becomes president, Mr. Sheinbaum’s stakes in the U.S. election could not be higher.
Mexico’s economy is highly dependent on the United States. This economy is supported in part by $475 billion in exports to the United States and $63 billion in remittances sent home by Mexicans working abroad, most of whom live in the United States.
Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) has grown at an annual rate of less than 2% over the past two years, and growth is expected to slow next year, according to Mexico’s central bank. About 80% of the country’s exports go to the U.S., including medical equipment, computers, television screens and auto parts that are assembled in Mexican border cities and destined for U.S. factories and consumers.
Importantly, the free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States, and Canada is scheduled to be renegotiated in 2026, and the outcome for Mexico could vary widely depending on who is in the White House.
At the same time, Mexico is engaged in a massive effort to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. border. Mr. Sheinbaum will be under pressure to maintain this policy for now, despite the growing number of migrants stuck in Mexico and the risk of angering Mexicans. She will also face pressure from the United States to target dangerous criminal organizations dealing with fentanyl trafficking and immigration into the United States.
She also faces domestic challenges as she is tasked with carrying out initiatives started by Lรณpez Obrador, who is expected to loom large over his presidency.
First, she would need to carry out a sweeping overhaul of Mexico’s judicial system, which would see the country’s local, state and federal judges elected rather than appointed. Lรณpez Obrador pushed for constitutional reform in his final weeks in office, but it fell through. Sharp criticism by the US government.
Read more: Alleviating anxiety: Claudia Sheinbaum’s mission to boost Mexico’s global business attractiveness
mexican inauguration day
In addition to First Lady Jill Biden, the inauguration ceremony was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Ahead of the ceremony, Mexican police erected a movable steel fence around Mexico City’s vast public square known as the Zocalo, a typical site for celebrations and protests in the country. A Mexican flag the size of a billboard was flying in front of the Palacio Nacional, the national palace where Sheinbaum rules and resides.
A letter engraved with a popular caricature of Lรณpez Obrador was affixed to the barrier. People expressed their gratitude to him with handwritten notes.
“Thank you for giving my parents the check,” Jose Manuel Hernandez wrote in a signed note. โWe will never tire of saying that it is an honor to be with Obrador.โ
This story has been updated to change or add photos and videos.
Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@usatoday.com.