Sunday Polls: Happy with Obama, Not So with Mexico

Poder has a series of polls on a number of topics in its latest episode, breaking the respondents into three groups: Mexicans, Latinos living in the US, and non-Mexican Latin Americans. One striking result repeated in a number of questions was each group's faith in Barack Obama, especially the Mexicans: 92 percent of those polled professed a favorable or very favorable opinion of the new president; 83 percent said that relations with Latin America would improve; and 87 percent said that he was among the leaders best positioned to guide his nation in the coming years. At the same time, only 28 percent of Mexicans said that Latin American leaders were managing the financial crisis well, and less than 24 percent agreed that Felipe Calderón "has the situation in his country under control."

The two craziest results: 80 percent of Mexicans believed that inequality is the driving factor behind the violence in the country, and 32 percent said support for the idea of the US intervening even militarily in order to maintain security in Mexico.