LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles awoke yesterday to a changing of the guard, with Antonio Villaraigosa winning the election as the city’s first Hispanic mayor since 1872 and giving Latinos long-awaited political clout to match their burgeoning numbers.

The milestone was evident as Mr. Villaraigosa walked up to the podium at his victory party amid chants of “Si, se puede,” Spanish for “Yes, we can.” He then promised to “bring this great city together” and thanked the people who inspired him during his rise from the barrio.

Mr. Villaraigosa, 52, defeated Mayor James Hahn by an unexpectedly wide margin Tuesday, 59% to 41%, in the nation’s second-largest city.

“I’ve said to people, ‘I’m an American of Mexican descent and I intend to be a mayor for all Los Angeles,'” he said yesterday while visiting a vocational school. “In this diverse city, that’s the only way it can work.”

The victory by one Democrat over another came about a decade after Hispanics became the biggest ethnic group in the city. Los Angeles is now 48% Hispanic, 31% white, 11% Asian, and 10% black.

“Clearly this is an opportunity at the very least for a new kind of multiracial coalition. This is different – Latinos in the lead with African-Americans playing a key role with white liberals and Jews,” said Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., a political scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles. “It’s a different kind of pecking order.”

When he is sworn in July 1, Mr. Villaraigosa will become the first Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles in 133 years. Back then, the city was nothing but a town of 5,000 people on the edge of the Western frontier.

Raised in Los Angeles by a single mother, Mr. Villaraigosa grew up on the edge of poverty, dropped out of high school, and once had a tattoo that read “Born to Raise Hell.” He later had the tattoo removed after he became a father.

Inspired by a teacher to resume his education, he eventually earned a law degree and was elected to the state Assembly in 1994, where he quickly became speaker. Forced out by term limits in 2000, he ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Hahn for mayor in 2001 and then was elected to the City Council in 2003.

“I stand here today because people believed in me,” he said in his victory speech.

Mr. Villaraigosa’s challenge will be uniting the city’s diverse and often competing ethnic groups. He must now carry through with solutions to the problems he discussed on the campaign trail – gangs, a lack of affordable housing, and worsening traffic.

“The challenge isn’t getting elected now, the challenge is governing – how is he going to do this when he is under tremendous pressure from his own community, plus African-Americans who abandoned Hahn?” Mr. Gilliam said.

Mr. Hahn, the scion of a prominent political family, was turned out of office despite Los Angeles’s job growth and falling crime rate. His lackluster first term was tainted by corruption allegations at City Hall. He lost black support because he backed the ouster of Police Chief Bernard Parks, who is black. And he was hurt by his stiff, reserved demeanor.

He becomes the first Los Angeles mayor in 32 years to be bounced from office.

“Once you recognize that you’re a public servant, that means you’re someone’s employee,” Mr. Hahn said yesterday at his campaign headquarters. “The employer makes hiring and firing decisions, and I accept that decision.”