MEXICO CITY – Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s first female president, riding the enthusiasm over her predecessor’s social programs but also facing challenges that include stubbornly high levels of violence.

After a smiling Sheinbaum took the oath of office on the floor of Congress, legislators shouted the feminine form of the word president in Spanish — “Presidenta! Presidenta!” — for the first time in over 200 years of Mexico’s history as an independent country.