Mexico’s First Female President, Claudia Sheinbaum, Takes Office

Claudia Sheinbaum took office on Tuesday, the first woman and Jewish person to lead Mexico in the country’s more than 200-year history as an independent nation.

“For the first time, we women have arrived to lead the destinies of our beautiful nation,” Ms. Sheinbaum said during her inauguration ceremony on Tuesday. “And I say we arrived because I do not arrive alone. We all arrived.”

Thousands packed into Mexico City’s main square on Tuesday afternoon to wait for Ms. Sheinbaum to address supporters.

Licet Reséndiz Oropeza, a resident of Tijuana, traveled more than 50 hours by bus to be in the capital on the day a woman became the country’s president for the first time.

“It’s something historic,” said Ms. Reséndiz Oropeza. “It’s a joy that I cannot begin to describe.”

The leftist former mayor of Mexico City, Ms. Sheinbaum triumphed in June elections with the largest margin of victory since Mexico transitioned to democracy and a sweeping mandate to follow through on her promise to continue the social policies of her predecessor and political mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

But while Ms. Sheinbaum is stepping into office with considerable power in her hands, she will also have to contend with a multitude of forces that may constrain her, analysts say.