Mexico City, Mexico — A poll conducted by Consulta Mitofsky shows a decline in the approval rate of Mexico’s president.
According to the poll, which was released Friday, the approval rate of Andrés Manuel López Obrador fell below 50 percent for the first time since his presidency amid criticism of his management of the coronavirus emergence, concerns about public insecurity and economic problems.
The Consulta Mitofsky poll placed the president’s popularity at 49.6 percent. Roy Campos, director of Mitofsky said that the coronavirus epidemic has “seriously” been affecting citizen support for the government as well as the national economic outlook.
The president, whose approval was close to 80 percent a year ago, has suffered a substantial drop in popularity amid strong criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis since the government reported the first infection in February.
As of March 27, the Ministry of Health for Mexico reported 717 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths. Undersecretary Hugo López-Gatell says he will discuss the situation regarding atypical pneumonia, which, he said, “has generated doubts and false news.” That announcement came after funeral homes began questioning the sudden increase in phenomena deaths, wondering if they were not actually coronavirus-related deaths.
In Quintana Roo, the number of COVID-19 cases has increased to 32. The Ministry of Health says for the state, there were 109 negatives, 40 in study, 32 positives and one death.