SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday issued the following statement upon the inauguration of President Joe Biden:

“The peaceful transfer of power is a cornerstone of American democracy. And the change in leadership enacted today is one of the most meaningful in the recent history of our nation. Better days are ahead for all of us. I congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris, and I am praying for them and their families. Their success is now our success, our nation’s success.

“COVID-19 has decimated families and upended livelihoods all across our country. The economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic has exacerbated the inequality of wealth and opportunity that has been worsening for decades. Violent conspiracy theories have alienated and radicalized an entire faction of Americans; the open wounds of racial injustice and racial violence have festered; and our nation’s moral standing on the world stage has foundered. A president can do a whole lot of good work. A president can also do the opposite. President Biden and what he represents – a return to compassion, care and dignity – is desperately necessary at this moment for the good of our country and our state. As with the prior administration, I hope all Americans and New Mexicans will in good faith offer our new president the opportunity to lead us, to make whole what has been broken this last year and to address the longstanding structural issues that are crying out for attention.

“Americans, and New Mexicans, of every political stripe want honest and accountable leadership. All of us are eager to once again be led by a federal government that is committed to the actual business of credible governance and that will begin, with the resources and wherewithal only the government of the United States of America can muster, to address these foundational issues and ameliorate these acute crises. I am greatly looking forward to better days for workers and families all across our state and country and to helping the Biden-Harris administration in whatever way I can.”