Mexico City residents say their faith in God has strengthened through the Covid-19 pandemic, while their confidence in the government has declined, according to an El Financiero-Bloomberg survey.

Forty-eight percent of respondents confirmed their trust in the divine had grown and just 16% said that their confidence in government had increased.

Forty-four percent said that they had less faith in government than they did before the pandemic.

Faith in God and confidence in science showed themselves not to be mutually exclusive: alongside increased trust in God, 36% of respondents signaled more trust in science. Faith in the common man also grew: 16% said they trust people more.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has been a source of motivation for some of those surveyed. 53% said they had greater desire for personal improvement and 35% said they felt more motivated.

The diminishing support in Mexico City for the ruling Morena party was reflected in the June 6 elections. Despite the capital being a stronghold for the party in recent years, it lost in four of the 11 districts it governed, making Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum the first to govern with a majority of districts in opposition hands.

Sheinbaum blamed the “terrible tragedy” of the Metro collapse on May 3, which killed 26 people, while both she and the president made claims of a “dirty war” against ruling administrations both nationally and in the capital.

However, the pandemic has also hit the city hard. Mexico City has born the brunt of Covid-19 cases, recording far more than double the next worst affected state.

Voters may also have been dissuaded by the pattern of government investment, which has been focused outside of the capital. Early in the administration, President López Obrador opted to cancel the construction of the Texcoco airport, destined to serve Mexico City, which was somewhere between 20% and 30% complete; his flagship project, the Maya Train, will connect towns and cities in the south-east of the country.

Faith in God is generally expressed through Catholicism, which is the dominant religion in the country and the capital. However, it has shown a gradual decrease in followers in the two decades preceding 2020.

Protestant and evangelical faiths also grew in popularity over the same period, but remain fringe compared to Catholicism. The capital is also a historic home to the country’s small Jewish population.

The survey of 500 Mexico City residents was conducted by telephone on July 15-16. The margin of error was estimated at 4.4%.

With reports from El Financiero