Poll: Mexican Views of the U.S. Rebound from All-Time Low

MARCH 6, 2019

Mexican public opinion of the United States is back in positive territory after hitting an all-time low in 2017, according to a new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Buendía & Laredo. In a dramatic reversal, 56 percent of Mexicans have a favorable view of the United States, compared to a record low of 30 percent in 2017.

The report, “Under AMLO, Mexican Views of the U.S. Rebound from All-Time Low,” is based on a survey conducted after the election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the negotiation of a new trilateral trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Key findings from the report include:

  • A majority in Mexico (56 percent) have a favorable view of the United States, reversing the all-time low (30 percent) recorded in 2017.
  • American views of Mexico continue to warm, reaching an average of 58 on a scale from 0 to 100, up notably from 2013’s average of 43.
  • Despite warming views, few Mexicans (13 percent) say U.S.-Mexico relations are improving; instead, a majority (60 percent) say relations are staying about the same.
  • Surveyed before the new trade agreement was reached, Americans (63 percent) and Mexicans (78 percent) both think NAFTA is good for their countries’ economy. The Council’s January 2019 survey found that seven in ten Americans (70 percent) think the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be good for the U.S. economy.


For more findings, graphics, and methodology, download the full report .

U.S. Methodology

This report’s analysis of country thermometer readings and support for the USMCA are based on data from interviews conducted January 11 -13, 2019 by Ipsos Public Affairs using their large-scale, nationwide online probability panel, the KnowledgePanel OmniWeb. A total of 1,019 interviews were completed among a weighted national sample of adults 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error on weighted data is ±3 percentage points for the full sample.

Additional results come from the 2018 Chicago Council Survey of the American public on foreign policy, a project of the Lester Crown Center on U.S. Foreign Policy. The 2018 Chicago Council Survey was conducted by GfK Custom Research using their large-scale, nationwide online research panel July 12-31, 2018 among a weighted national sample of 2,046 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is ±2.37, including a design effect of 1.1954.

For both surveys, partisan identification is based on respondents’ answer to a standard partisan self-identification question: “Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or what?”

The 2018 Chicago Council Survey was made possible by the generous support of the Crown family, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the U.S.-Japan Foundation, the Korea Foundation, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Mexico Methodology

Results reported from Mexico are based on data collected by Buendía & Laredo. The nationwide face-to-face survey was conducted from August 17 to August 23, 2018, among a weighted national sample of Mexican adults, 18 years of age or older, who reside in housing units within the national territory. Assuming a design effect (deff) of 1.3, the sampling margin of error of the survey is ±3.53 percentage points. For more details, please contact us at contacto@buendíaylaredo.com.