Politics: Presidential Ratings Near Rock Bottom

MEXICO - Report 25 Sep 2017 by Guillermo Valdes and Esteban Manteca

The latest GEA-ISA nationwide poll of registered voters shows President Enrique Peña Nieto’s disapproval ratings have reached historical highs as the public displays a deep sense of pessimism about how things are likely to evolve in the election year.

The administration might possibly glean snippets of positive news from the latest survey as the percentage of those expressing optimism about the direction of the economy barely broke above the single digits, and its tougher talk on Nafta and crime obviously had an impact, but there is no getting around the fact that the public has an overwhelmingly negative view of the administration, which extends to all areas of policy and major points of public concern such as the economy, corruption, and public security. Today, only 16% of the public approves of the job Peña Nieto is doing in office, and 78% disapprove ‒ the worst presidential ratings GEA-ISA has registered in 18 years of polling. The percentage of people who believe the president a great deal is down to 4%, and more than half the public says they do not believe in him at all, although September’s 54% result is down from a high of 63% in the first quarter. The public also has an overwhelmingly negative assessment of how the government is handling public safety, with a clear majority saying the country is less secure than a year ago as opposed to readings in the mid-to-low 40s in the previous two quarters.

Implementation of the National Anticorruption System and the arrests of former state governors on corruption charges have put a dent in disapproval on such matters, but more than half of citizens said they believe the administration has failed to take steps to avoid acts of corruption, and only 8% said it is less of a problem than in the previous administration.

As it approaches its final year in office, the government of President Peña Nieto is deeply rejected by the public. And it will have to manage the presidential elections, in which it clearly intends to been an exceptionally active participant, from this position of weakness and deficit of legitimacy.

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