Outgoing President Vicente Fox (L) holds the presidential band as new president Felipe Calderon takes the oath of office in Mexico's congress in Mexico City Dec. 1, 2006. (Xinhua Photo/Reuters) Photo Gallery >>>

    MEXICO CITY, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Felipe Calderon , who was naugurated as Mexican president for a six-year term earlier on Friday, has sworn in his cabinet during a public ceremony at the capital's National Auditorium.

    Calderon delivered an address to the nation and then formally asked cabinet members to work in the interests of the whole nation.

    The cabinet includes Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora, Federal Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna, National Defense Minister Guillermo Galvan, Interior Minister Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuna and Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa.

    In his speech, he gave a list of instructions to his cabinet members, such as to follow his lead and slash their salaries, set a plan to overhaul the justice system, create a social mechanism to help the vulnerable, build a competitive economy that is favorable for local enterprises and boost investment inside Mexicoto create more job opportunities.

    He also showed willingness to negotiate with leftist lawmakers who tried to block his inauguration, saying, "I am always ready to talk, but I will not wait for dialogue before going to work."

    Calming down the political chaos that was triggered during the election process will be the first and foremost task of the new president, if he wants to avoid serious difficulties in realizing his governing agenda.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, former presidential candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), speaks at a rally to protest against the swearing in of Felipe Calderon as Mexico's new President, in Mexico City's Zocalo square Dec. 1, 2006.  (Xinhua Photo/Reuters) Photo Gallery >>>

    His main rival, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said earlier that he would never recognize Calderon's victory in the presidential election, although Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal has confirmed that Calderon won the elections with a razor-thin margin of just 0.56 of a percentage point.

    Lopez Obrador, alleging massive fraud in the electoral process, was sworn in as Mexico's "legitimate president" on Monday, in a move aimed at keeping Calderon from governing.

    "I will not respect a thief, and I will always call him that," Lopez Obrador told his supporters on Friday.

    The protests led by Lopez Obrador against Calderon have lasted for several months, and have led to a deterioration in the country's already-troubled public security.

    Many of Mexico's largest cities are plagued by kidnappings, while some rural areas have become drug-traffickers' strongholds.

    Calderon vowed to come up with a plan within 90 days to boost the fight against organized crime and clean up the police.

    The appointment of Acuna as interior minister seems to represent Calderon's strong anti-crime stance. The 54-year-old former governor of Jalisco has been widely regarded as an iron-fisted politician. But some analysts have expressed concerns that he is not the right man for solving Mexico's complicated social problem with his tough style of governing.

    Professional diplomat Espinosa has been appointed as foreign minister. Displaying strong negotiation and communication abilities when she served as Mexico's ambassador to Austria and Slovenia, she would implement a "responsible" foreign policy instructed by Calderon, said analysts here.

    She would be faced with such tasks as improving Mexico's diplomatic image on the international stage, creating a favorable international environment for Mexico's economic development and solving the conflict with Washington surrounding Mexican's immigrants to the United States, they said.

    Most of the new cabinet members are aged between 45 and 50 and have pursued education overseas. Calderon, with the help of the 20-member cabinet, will seek to eradicate poverty, boost social development, secure a fast-development economy and safeguard social stability.