MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It is inauguration day in Mexico. For the first time in its modern history, Mexico will have a woman as president. Claudia Sheinbaum is 62 years old. Before entering politics, she was an environmental scientist. She takes over the government from her popular predecessor, whose leftist politics she closely follows. And she inherits a country struggling with corruption, drug violence and organized crime. NPR's Carrie Kahn is in Mexico City, and she's here to tell us more. Good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So you're in the capital. What is the mood on this inauguration day?
KAHN: It's an official federal holiday, so many people have it off. That always makes people happy. Sheinbaum will be sworn in later this morning. Then she'll hold a large outdoor event in Mexico City's historic center downtown. Sheinbaum won with nearly 60% of the vote here, so many people are very enthusiastic about her. I met these two engineering students downtown. Both are 22, and both voted for her. First, here's Karol Gallegos.
KAROL GALLEGOS: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: She says she's really excited about Mexico having its first woman president, yet she's worried about a machista backlash against her. Gallegos' boyfriend, Rafael Bautista, says he's also excited, but is very worried about crime.
RAFAEL BAUTISTA: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: He says Sheinbaum really needs to tackle security and make it better, stronger, throughout the whole country. Currently, there's a very violent fighting going on between - an internal battle for control in the Pacific state of Sinaloa, between members of the Sinaloa cartel. That's sparked since two major leaders were arrested in the U.S. recently. Of course, there are people not enthusiastic about Sheinbaum, too. She is taking over and has pledged to continue many of the policies of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who's been a very polarizing figure in Mexico for the last six years, Michel.
MARTIN: So let's talk a little bit about Lopez Obrador. A lot of people call him AMLO. He's leaving office. He's barred by law from reelection. What's his legacy?
KAHN: Again, that all depends on who you're talking to. For his supporters, he's widely popular, leaving office with stratospheric approval ratings. He has been a staunch defender of the poor here, and during his time in office, 5 million Mexicans rose out of poverty. But he's also been criticized for dismantling public institutions, concentrating the power of the presidency, restructuring the judiciary and empowering the military, which - critics say all of those things threatens Mexico's fragile democracy.
MARTIN: So as we've said, Sheinbaum is Lopez Obrador's political protegee. She overwhelmingly won the election. Is there any way in which she wants to differentiate herself from him?
KAHN: In many ways, she doesn't really want to. He's so popular, and so she's riding on those coattails. Sheinbaum is a longtime leftist, too, and is committed to the outgoing president's populist politics of putting the poor first. Political analyst Viri Rios told me that Sheinbaum will keep sending cash to the poor, and, like Lopez Obrador, will invest in big infrastructure projects and maintain an austere budget.
VIRI RIOS: The specific initiatives that you perform in order to turn that into reality - I do think we're going to observe interesting differences between them.
KAHN: The biggest differences are their personalities. Lopez Obrador has this folksy, everyday man, sort of your frumpy elder relative persona. One of his biggest hallmarks during his time in office has been his daily hourslong press conferences. Sheinbaum is very different - not as charismatic, much more pragmatic. She does, however, say she'll continue those morning pressers, but they are expected to be much more focused and much shorter.
MARTIN: All right. That is NPR's Carrie Kahn. Carrie, thank you.
KAHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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