Politics: Peña Nieto’s Fourth-Year Scorecard
According to the latest GEA-ISA poll of voters taken between November 25 and 28, the public has a clearly adverse view of the administration of President Peña as it concludes its fourth year in office. On the five major points around which his National Development Plan was structured (greater public security, lowering poverty, sustained economic growth, quality education, and regaining the country’s standing in the world) the government scored a positive balance of responses only in the case of improving education, and even on that point, just one out of three respondents gave the president favorable marks.
The public’s adverse reaction to President Peña’s decision to invite Donald Trump to Mexico, and the latter’s election victory, was apparent in responses to the question of whether President Peña has helped Mexico regain its standing in the world: those who answered yes fell from 17% in late August to 9%, making it the one National Development Plan policy area on which public approval has slipped into single digits.
Four years on, 40% of respondents say they cannot think of anything they could describe as the Peña Nieto administration’s greatest accomplishment, while only 4% of citizens said they could not think what its greatest failure might be. Only 6% said they believe what President Peña says “a great deal”, and the percentage that said they don’t believe “anything” he says has now broken above the 50% mark. Moreover, most people are clearly unconvinced by administration claims of trying to crack down on corruption
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when asked what sensation they feel toward the government more chose “concern” than any other option. Only one out of every four Mexicans said they felt “hope” in relation to the government of President Peña, and more than one out of five replied “anger”.
The poor esteem in which the Mexican public holds President Peña and the dismal marks voters give his administration are an additional source of pressure on the Mexican government in the midst of an already complicated situation. In order to stand up to a turbulent international context, and in the face of threats from the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, Mexico needs a strong president with firm social support. The possibilities for changing that perception grow ever so faint as time progresses.
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