Politics: AMLO's approval sees real slippage
Since he rode a wave of deep popular discontent with politics as usual, conspicuous corruption, deepening social inequality and a sluggish economy to victory in 2018, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has enjoyed a level of popularity unprecedented in recent history. That support has remained not only intact but at times has also flourished in the face of challenges posed by a worsening economy, rising levels of criminal violence and myriad policy missteps as well as difficulties in delivering on many of the administration’s top promises and signature social policies.
But recent polling suggests the euphoria that predominated during most of the AMLO’s administration’s first year in office, and the elasticity its ratings have displayed is increasingly being tested by a burgeoning sense of disappointment, if not outright disenchantment, even among a considerable swath of those who continue to express approval of the government. That impression was further confirmed by the latest edition of GEA-ISA’s quarterly nationwide survey of registered voters, according to which, approval has fallen by four points in the last three months, although it remains historically strong at 57%.
Over the course of the last five quarterly opinion surveys, however, disapproval levels have climbed steadily, rising 17 points to 38%. But the most significant signs of potential trouble for the administration can be seen in specific policy areas. More than a third of voters feel public security is worsening, and another 54% see no improvement on that front; more tellingly, 55% say there needs to be a change of course in security policy, including 38% of those who approve of the administration. The percentage of respondents who say the government is taking steps to lower corruption fell by ten points, and the percentage reporting broad policy success has fallen significantly in matters of healthcare, education and even in defending the country from external threats.
There has been a surprising rise in the percentage of the citizenry who think the country is on the wrong path. While the number thinking the country was on the right course enjoyed a 35-point lead over the naysayers in March, the gap has almost entirely disappeared, shrinking to a mere 3 points in November.
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