Mexico City, October 1: Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office Tuesday as Mexico's first female president in more than 200 years of independence, promising to protect an expanded social safety net and other popular policies put in place by her predecessor, but facing pressing problems.

The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician receives a country with a number of immediate challenges, foremost among them stubbornly high levels of violence, a sluggish economy and the hurricane-battered resort city of Acapulco, which she plans to visit Wednesday. Mexico: Riders on ‘Sky Screamer’ Left Dangling 243 Feet Above Ground at Six Flags Amusement Park in Mexico City During Storm, Video Goes Viral.

While former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office six years ago declaring “For the good of all, first the poor,” and promising historical change from the neoliberal economic policies of his predecessors, Sheinbaum has promised continuity. She has committed to guarding his legacy — more support for the poor and a deepening militarization of domestic security — but many Mexicans remain hopeful that she will eventually step out of his formidable shadow.

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