Sheinbaum will be sworn in as president on Oct. 1, instead of the usual Dec. 1 swearing-in ceremony. The transition period was shortened after Mexican legislators judged that outgoing presidents stayed too long in office. Sheinbaum will serve a six-year term through 2030.
Sheinbaum has pledged to follow all the policies of her predecessor and political mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
She wasted no time in saying that López Obrador's "hugs, not bullets" policy of not confronting the country's powerful drug cartels was here to stay. The policy, which stresses hand-out programs to reduce the pool of cartel recruits, has proved ineffective at stemming the wave of drug violence.
“The war against drugs will not return," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum won with almost 60% of the vote, about double the number of her nearest competitor, Xóchitl Gálvez.
Gálvez had argued that López Obrador had used his influence and popularity to skew the race in favor of Sheinbaum. ___
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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