Pena's popularity hits bottom
Monday, December 8, 2014
The popularity of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto reached its lowest level since he took office two years ago, according to two polls published last week.
Peña’s approval rating among citizens fell from 50% to 39% during the last quarter, according to the Reforma newspaper.
This is the lowest level of popularity for a Mexican president since 1995, when the administration of Ernesto Zedillo faced a severe economic crisis.
Security is seen as the biggest failure of the Peña administration, following the disappearance last September of 43 students, along with continuing violence linked to drug cartels.
Peña in addition gets unfavorable reviews from 72% of respondents on the issue of combating corruption.
The Reforma survey, which includes interviews with a thousand citizens, was conducted between November 20 and 23.
In a survey carried out by El Universal, Peña’s approval rating dropped from 46% to 41% during the previous quarter.
Nor has Peña convinced Mexicans of the benefits of his structural reforms, including the opening of the energy sector to competition, and the adoption of a program to make public-school teachers pass proficiency tests.
Only 5% of the population consider the reforms to be a success, according to the El Universal survey.