Around two-thirds of Mexican adults, 64%, hold a favorable opinion of President Claudia Sheinbaum, down from 83% just one year ago, a 19-point drop documented in a Pew Research Center survey published July 16, 2026, that reflects a broad cooling of public sentiment now extending to the economy, democratic satisfaction, and Sheinbaum’s own Morena party.
A steep slide in strong support
The share of Mexican adults who hold a very favorable view of Sheinbaum has fallen from 46% to 24%, a halving of her most enthusiastic supporters in the space of a single year.
After a year and a half in office, Sheinbaum remains broadly popular, but Mexicans’ views of her and her left-leaning Morena party are more negative than they were a year ago, according to the spring 2026 Pew survey.
Pew surveyed 1,017 Mexican adults from Feb. 20 to April 10, 2026, as part of a larger survey of public opinion conducted across 37 places in spring 2026.
The research center noted a key timing caveat: the survey began fielding before cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was killed in the custody of Mexican special forces and his cartel responded with violence across the country.
Fieldwork also ended before U.S. authorities indicted Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya on charges related to aiding the Sinaloa drug cartel, after which he stepped down.
Crime and corruption remain weak spots
Sheinbaum receives mixed approval on specific issues. Most Mexicans approve of her handling of education (65%), the economy (61%), and relations with the United States (55%), but more disapprove than approve of her efforts to fight organized crime and drug traffickers as well as corruption.
On every issue surveyed, those who support Sheinbaum’s Morena party or its allies in the 2024 presidential election are more likely than non-supporters to give her positive marks.
This partisan divide tracks closely with how Hispanic identity shapes political outlooks more broadly, where group solidarity and lived experience produce sharply different assessments of the same leaders and institutions.
Morena still leads, but rivals remain far behind
Ratings of Sheinbaum’s Morena party have also fallen, with 61% of Mexican adults now viewing the party favorably, down from 78% last year. Still, Morena is significantly more popular than any rival political party surveyed and is the only party that Mexicans view more favorably than unfavorably. Citizens’ Movement draws a 44% favorable rating, the National Action Party 30%, and the Institutional Revolutionary Party just 26%.
Economic and democratic confidence both slide
About half of Mexicans say the economic situation in the country is good, down from 61% last year, a drop that coincides with Mexico’s economy shrinking in the first quarter of 2026.
The decline is particularly pronounced among those who place themselves on the ideological left. The share of those on the left who say the economic situation is good fell 24 percentage points since last year, compared with 6-point declines for those on the right and those in the center.
Views of democracy have also declined. Today, 33% of Mexicans are satisfied with the way democracy is working in the country, down from 51% last year.
As with views of the economy, this downward shift is driven mostly by shrinking satisfaction among those on the ideological left. The pattern mirrors a broader dynamic that Pew has documented when tracking how public engagement with civic institutions can fracture along identity and ideological lines even when a leader remains nominally popular.
