First elected woman mayor
Sheinbaum was sworn in for a six-year term in Mexico City
Mexico city: The first woman elected mayor of Mexico City was sworn in for a six-year term leading one of the world’s largest cities, in a country with a deep tradition of machismo.
Claudia Sheinbaum, a 56-yearold scientist and environmentalist, rode to victory in the July elections on the same antiestablishment wave that brought her ally and mentor to power, Mexico’s new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Grinning, Obrador – himself a former Mexico City mayor – raised Sheinbaum’s hand in a sign of victory after she took the oath of office before the city legislature on Wednesday. It was a potent symbol of the radical shift in Mexican politics, now dominated by the left-wing party he founded four years ago, Morena. Sheinbaum echoed Obrador’s fervent anti-corruption message in her inaugural address.
“We are beginning a new era of honesty and eradicating the privileges long enjoyed by top officials. The first thing we will do is put an end to abuses. As of now, we are reestablishing democracy and political freedom,” she said.
She vowed to end “the privatisation of public spaces” in the sprawling capital of more than eight million inhabitants, whose greater urban area is home to some 20 million people.
And she promised to fight violence against women.
Another woman previously served as Mexico City mayor on an interim basis – Rosario Robles, from 1999 to 2000 – but Sheinbaum is the first woman elected to the post.