Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as Mexico’s first female president

MEXICO CITY (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office Tuesday as Mexico's first female president in more than 200 years of independence.

She has promised to protect an expanded social safety net and fight for the poor like her predecessor.

She, nonetheless, is facing pressing issues.

The 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician receives a country with a number of immediate problems, also including a sluggish economy, unfinished building programs, rising debt and the hurricane-battered resort city of Acapulco.

Sheinbaum romped to victory in June with nearly 60% of the vote, propelled largely by the sustained popularity of her political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

She has pledged to continue all his policies, even those that strengthened the power of the military and weakened the country's checks and balances.