Mexicans view President Claudia Sheinbaum favorably, but less so than in 2025

After a year and a half in office, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum remains broadly popular in her country. However, Mexicans’ views of Sheinbaum and her left-leaning Morena party are more negative since last year, according to a spring Pew Research Center survey.
| Year | Category | Unfavorable | Favorable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Claudia Sheinbaum | 35 | 64 |
| 2025 | Claudia Sheinbaum | 15 | 83 |
| 2026 | Morena Party | 36 | 61 |
| 2025 | Morena Party | 19 | 78 |
Mexicans’ views of the national economy and satisfaction with democracy have also declined since 2025.
Our survey began fielding on Feb. 20, 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 ended on April 10, before U.S. authorities indicted Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya on charges related to aiding the Sinaloa drug cartel. He has since stepped down.
Views of Sheinbaum
| NET Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Somewhat disapprove | Somewhat approve | Strongly approve | NET Approve | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 34 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 30 | 65 |
| The economy | 38 | 18 | 20 | 42 | 19 | 61 |
| Relations with the U.S. | 41 | 17 | 24 | 40 | 15 | 55 |
| Fighting organized crime and drug traffickers | 53 | 35 | 18 | 25 | 20 | 45 |
| Fighting corruption | 53 | 34 | 19 | 25 | 20 | 45 |
Around two-thirds of Mexican adults (64%) have a favorable opinion of Sheinbaum. This is down from 83% last year. And the share who have a very favorable view of her has fallen from 46% to 24%.
She receives mixed approval of how she’s addressing specific issues. Most Mexicans approve of her handling of education (65%), the economy (61%) and relations with the United States (55%). However, more disapprove than approve of her efforts to fight organized crime and drug traffickers as well as corruption.
On every issue we asked about, those who support Sheinbaum’s Morena party or its allies in the 2024 presidential election – the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) and the Labor Party (PT) – are more likely than those who do not support these parties to give her positive marks. For instance, 56% of supporters approve of Sheinbaum’s handling of corruption, compared with 37% of nonsupporters.
Views of Morena
| Morena | Citizens’ Movement (MC) | National Action Party (PAN) | Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 61 | 44 | 30 | 26 |
| 2025 | 78 | 49 | 27 | 20 |
| 2024 | 74 | 44 | 29 | 23 |
| 2023 | 74 | 33 | 27 | |
| 2019 | 66 | 32 | 23 | |
| 2018 | 56 | 34 | 21 | |
| 2017 | 37 | 38 | 28 | |
| 2015 | 29 | 38 | ||
| 2014 | 30 | 47 | ||
| 2013 | 36 | 49 |
Ratings of Sheinbaum’s left-leaning Morena party have also fallen: 61% of Mexican adults view the party favorably, down from 78% last year.
Still, Morena is significantly more popular than any rival political party we asked about. In fact, it’s the only one that Mexicans view more favorably than unfavorably:
- 44% have a favorable view of Citizens’ Movement (MC).
- 30% have positive views of the National Action Party (PAN).
- 26% of Mexicans view the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) positively.
How Mexicans view their economy and democracy
| Say economic situation is good | Say economic situation is bad | Satisfied with democracy | Not satisfied with democracy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 49 | 49 | 33 | 66 |
| 2025 | 61 | 38 | 51 | 48 |
| 2024 | 63 | 36 | 50 | 50 |
| 2023 | 60 | 39 | 48 | 51 |
About half of Mexicans say the economic situation in the country is good, down from 61% last year. This drop comes as Mexico’s economy shrank in the first quarter of 2026.
The decline is particularly large 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 Mexico, down from 51% who said the same last year. As with views of the economy, this downward shift is driven mostly by shrinking satisfaction among those on the ideological left.
Note: Here are the survey questions we used for this analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology.

Facts Only

* Claudia Sheinbaum received 64% favorable opinion in 2026 and 15% unfavorable opinion.
* The Morena Party received 61% favorable opinion in 2026 and 36% unfavorable opinion.
* Views on the national economy and satisfaction with democracy have declined since 2025.
* Sheinbaum received approval ratings of 65% for education, 61% for the economy, and 55% for relations with the U.S.
* Approval was lower regarding fighting organized crime and drug traffickers (45% NET Approve) and fighting corruption (45% NET Approve).
* Support for Sheinbaum's Morena party or its allies is more likely to yield positive marks from supporters compared to non-supporters on issues like corruption.
* In 2026, 33% of Mexicans are satisfied with the way democracy is working in Mexico, down from 51% in 2024.
* Satisfaction with the economic situation was 61% in 2025 and 49% in 2026.
* The share of those on the left who view the economic situation as good fell 24 percentage points since last year.

Executive Summary

Mexican public opinion regarding President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Morena party has shifted negatively over the last year and a half, as reflected in a spring Pew Research Center survey. While approximately two-thirds of Mexican adults maintain a favorable view of Sheinbaum (64%), this figure has decreased from 83% in the previous year, and the share of those with a very favorable view has dropped from 46% to 24%. Views on the national economy and democratic satisfaction have also declined since 2025. Specific areas where approval is higher include Sheinbaum’s handling of education (65%), the economy (61%), and relations with the United States (55%). Conversely, approval is lower regarding efforts to combat organized crime and corruption. Support for Sheinbaum’s party is generally stronger among supporters than non-supporters, particularly concerning issues like corruption. Furthermore, while Morena is less favorably viewed by the general public, it remains significantly more popular than rival parties, as evidenced by the fact that a minority of Mexicans view each competitor positively.

Full Take

The data reveals a correlation between external volatility—specifically the violence related to cartel activity and the subsequent political shifts involving figures like Rubén Rocha Moya—and a measurable decline in public trust regarding governance, economic stability, and democratic institutions. The most significant pattern is the divergence in opinion based on ideological alignment: satisfaction with the economy and democracy drops more sharply among the left-leaning segment than the center or right, suggesting that perceived systemic failures are being experienced disproportionately by those who align with the party currently in power.
The fact that approval for Sheinbaum’s performance on specific policy areas (education, economy, U.S. relations) is relatively stable, while approval concerning security and corruption has declined, suggests a segmentation of public concern. The relative strength of Morena's standing compared to opposition parties highlights its dominant position, yet the simultaneous decline in favorable views for Sheinbaum signals that this dominance is conditional, likely resting on continued success in managing the volatile issues of organized crime and economic performance. This structure implies a tension where governing effectiveness is increasingly judged not just by policy outcomes but by perceived fairness and security delivered to different segments of the population.
What factors are driving the greater decline among the left? When satisfaction with democracy and the economy falls most sharply among those on the left, it suggests that systemic economic contraction and institutional uncertainty are being internalized as failures specific to leftist political configurations rather than universal national challenges. What historical patterns of security or economic shifts correlate with these specific ideological realignments over time?

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

The text appears to be a well-structured journalistic synthesis of survey data, skillfully weaving statistical results with contextual details about recent events and ideological shifts.

Signals Detected

Absence of overly uniform structure; the inclusion of specific, albeit complex, data tables and cross-referencing suggests manual construction.

The flow between dense statistical reporting and contextual narrative shows variation inconsistent with pure LLM generation.

The structure relies heavily on presenting raw survey data followed by interpretive prose, which is typical of journalistic synthesis.

Human Indicators

The text integrates specific historical markers (Nemecio Oseguera Cervantes's death) that ground the survey context in real-time events, suggesting a human editorial hand prioritizing timeliness.

The way the final economic and democracy sections shift focus based on ideological positioning ('This drop comes as Mexico’s economy shrank... particularly large among those on the left') shows nuanced analytical framing typical of human political reporting.