As Claudia Sheinbaum prepares to deliver her first State of the Nation Address (Informe) on Monday, a new poll indicates she is the most popular Mexican president at this stage of her incumbency in decades.
Eleven months into Sheinbaum’s six-year term, a public opinion survey conducted by the Mitofsky Group for the newspaper El Economista reveals that 71.4% of those polled support the president’s management of the country.
This result places Sheinbaum comfortably ahead of her predecessor and mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador (62% in 2019), as well as Vicente Fox (62% in 2001), Felipe Calderón (66% in 2007) and Enrique Peña Nieto (56% in 2013).
Her approval rating soared early in her term, reaching 78% near the 100-day mark. That it’s still in the 70s near her one-year anniversary shows the December rating was not just a honeymoon effect.
Additionally, nearly 66% said Mexico is better off than when Sheinbaum took office last October and 58% said she has exceeded their expectations.
Those surveyed identified her top achievements as social welfare programs (8.9%), scholarships for students (8.8%), support for senior citizens (8.2%) and support for women (3.4%). Sheinbaum’s management of foreign policy came in sixth at 3.3%, while 4% said they believe she is successfully fighting crime.
However, nearly 46% of those surveyed identified the lack of security as the primary problem the country faces, though only 9.7% indicated that Sheinbaum’s biggest shortcoming thus far was failing to adequately combat crime.
Other primary issues of concern were the economy (9%), corruption (8.1%) and unemployment (5.6%).
The Mitofsky results are in line with a Buendía & Márquez poll conducted for the newspaper El Universal released on Monday which found 70% support for Sheinbaum.
Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez will present the printed version of the constitutionally mandated annual report to Congress on Monday morning, while Sheinbaum will deliver an address from the National Palace at 11 a.m.
With reports from El Economista
