A survey from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) has revealed that almost 51% of Mexicans gave President Andrés Manuel López Obrador high confidence ratings.
The National Survey of Urban Public Security asked Mexicans about their perceptions of security and safety in the country, as well as their confidence in authorities. 50.9% of respondents scored the president at least an 8 out of 10 with regards to their confidence in him.
A further 16.9% scored him between 6 and 7, for a total of 67.8% of Mexicans showing medium-to-high levels of confidence in López Obrador’s leadership, according to the survey data.
Confidence in the president scored highest in the municipality of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, with an overall rating of 8.4. Conversely, the Benito Juárez borough of Mexico City, one of the most prosperous in the country, scored him at only 4.2 out of 10.
With the exceptions of Benito Juárez and the city of San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo Leon, the president also outscored state governors, although some municipal mayors showed resilient popularity compared to López Obrador.
“The fact that is important is that 50% of the population considers that the President of the Republic can be trusted, with a very high level of confidence … ” said Jesús Ramirez, a spokesman for the president.
López Obrador rated best with those aged under 20 years and those over 60. He also scored highest with those with “little” or “no” education, according to INEGI. His popularity was higher among men (54.5% in favor) than women (47.8% in favor).
The survey also showed that the majority of Mexicans surveyed have confidence in the National Guard, who have been widely deployed to civilian security tasks across the country. Nearly 74% of Mexicans said they felt the Guard to “effective” or “somewhat effective.”
Confidence in local police forces was significantly lower, however, with only 49.9% saying that local police force inspired their confidence.
The navy scored high confidence ratings, with 87.5% of respondents expressing either “some confidence” or “great confidence” in the armed force’s effectiveness. The army came in second with a confidence score of 83.4%.
Scores were generally higher than in the last edition of the survey, conducted in December 2022. Mexicans also registered high confidence in their overall safety in urban areas.
