President López Obrador’s approval rating has dropped but he remains a highly popular leader, a new opinion poll shows.
A survey published today by El Universal shows that 72.7% of respondents approve of López Obrador’s performance as president, a decline of 6.7% compared to the newspaper’s previous poll in March.
Just over six months into his six-year term, López Obrador was given an overall rating of 7.33 out of 10, whereas in March he scored 7.7.
The president’s management of education and governance issues as well as his crusade against corruption were considered the most positive aspects of his performance.
However, 50% of all poll respondents disapproved of López Obrador’s management of migration problems.
Asked to identify the federal government’s greatest achievement, 21% of respondents cited the implementation of social programs while 20% mentioned the crackdown on fuel theft.
One in 10 respondents regarded the combating of corruption as the government’s biggest accomplishment but a higher percentage – 12% – said there had been no notable achievement.
Just over 16% said the López Obrador administration hasn’t made any significant errors since taking office last December, while 10% cited the government’ security strategy as a mistake.
The first quarter of this year was the most violent in recent history, with 7,242 homicide cases reported between January and March.
However, the government has expressed confidence that the centerpiece of its security plan, the newly-created National Guard, will be effective in reducing the high rates of violent crime plaguing the country.
Just over 8% of poll respondents said that the government had erred in its implementation of social programs, 7% cited cuts to the health sector as a mistake and 5.6% were critical of the management of the economy.
The survey found that 55% of respondents believe that López Obrador will fulfill his campaign promises while 15% said he won’t, a 5% increase compared to the previous poll.
An even higher percentage – 65% – said Mexico will improve during the current administration but the figure represents an 8% decline compared to March. Just over 12% of respondents said the country will get worse during López Obrador’s six-year term.
Nine in 10 people said López Obrador should tell United States President Donald Trump to stop his verbal attacks on Mexicans, while 61% said they supported the government stopping undocumented migrants from entering the country.
Source: El Universal (sp)
