The navy, army and president command the greatest confidence among the Mexican public, according to a new poll.

Published Wednesday by the newspaper El Financiero, the poll shows that the navy is No. 1 in the minds of Mexicans: 69% of respondents have a lot or some trust in the institution.

The navy has long been considered the most trustworthy of Mexico’s armed forces but it hasn’t completely avoided controversy: the United Nations said last year there were “strong indications” that it was responsible for the disappearance of 23 people in Tamaulipas.

Trust in the army is 68%, the polls shows, while 62% of respondents said they had a lot or some confidence in the office of the president, occupied by Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The high confidence in the army comes despite proven and alleged human rights abuses in recent years, including allegations that it played a role in the disappearance of the 43 teaching students in Guerrero in 2014.

The next most trustworthy institutions are the National Guard, the National Electoral Institute and the Bank of México. The poll shows that they have the confidence of 56%, 47% and 46% of respondents, respectively.

Journalists enjoy a lot or some trust of 45% of those polled, while the federal Congress, the National Human Rights Commission, the Supreme Court, media outlets and police have the confidence of 43%, 43%, 41%, 40% and 35% respectively.

Asked what the primary role of journalism in Mexico should be, 67% of respondents said it was to monitor the government and inform the public, while 31% said that it was to support López Obrador in the transformation he promises to bring to the country.

Just over two-thirds of those polled said the president’s attitude towards the press is fair and respectful while a quarter said the opposite.

López Obrador is known to dismiss reports critical of him or his government by declaring that they come from the prensa fifi (elitist press) or express the views of “neoliberals” or “conservatives.”

The media’s reporting about the president and his government has been fair and balanced, according to 54% of respondents, while 38% said that it has been unfair and alarmist.

Conducted via telephone this month with 1,115 Mexican adults in all 32 federal entities, the poll also sought opinions about eight international political leaders past and present.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proved to be the most popular, with 34% of respondent saying that they had a favorable view of him.

United States President Donald Trump was the least popular: three-quarters of those polled said they had an unfavorable opinion compared to just 7% who expressed a positive view.

Another survey published this week showed that López Obrador’s approval rating has slumped 12 points since March.

Polling firm De las Heras Demotecnia found that 68% of respondents approved of the president’s performance when the survey was conducted in the third week of November compared to 80% in March. The rating is almost 10 points higher than that found by an El Universal poll published on November 15.

Almost half of those polled by De las Heras said the country’s security situation has deteriorated under López Obrador’s leadership while a third said it had improved. Statistics show that 2019 will likely end as the most violent year in recent history.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Vanguardia (sp)