Politics: Uptick, but Approval Numbers Low
This week we are presenting the results of GEA’s fourth edition in 2015 of its study, Mexico: Politics, Society and Change, Political Scenarios, with a focus on public perceptions of how the current government has performed, and the electoral preferences of voters with an eye toward the 2018 presidential elections.
The public appears to be increasingly cognizant of the progress achieved over the course of the current year in implementing structural reforms, including two successful rounds of the energy reform, the increased competition and improved prices that have accompanied the telecommunications reform, plus the high profile consolidation of the educational reform. And the administration’s efforts to contain the severe political crisis that began in the final quarter of 2014 and avoid the missteps that further magnified the de-legitimization of the government and broader governing system were apparent in the latest polling results. A year since news broke of the Casa Blanca scandal and five months since El Chapo’s July 11 prison escape, the public seems to have lost interest in both subjects. But their focus has shifted back to bread and butter issues such as wages, employment, and lowering poverty, for which they give the government low marks.
The percentage of those polled who said they approve of the job Enrique Peña Nieto is doing as president rebounded 10 percentage points, but that movement only brought the president’s overall approval ratings back in line with those of September 2014. Public perceptions of Enrique Peña Nieto both as a person and as a governing official are also noticeably more positive, but his credibility remains well below that of his two predecessors in the presidency.
Overall, the public remains highly critical of the administration’s achievements to date, with responses ranging from the mere 7% who give it favorable marks on matters of public security and fighting corruption all the way up to the 22% who applaud the government’s handling of public healthcare. The percentage who said Peña Nieto has done less in office than they had expected broke back below 51% to 45%, but the percentage who feel he has surpassed their expectations remains mired at a mere 18%.
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