Yesterday's Other Poll

Reams of interesting facts spilled out from the Strategic Communication Cabinet's National Poll yesterday. Among them:

Most of Mexico doesn't think that legislative reelection would bring about a big change in Mexican politics: 43 percent said it wouldn't make a difference, while another 31 percent said they would perform even worse. Ouch. As a stalwart believe in the need for legislative (and executive, for that matter) reelection, that wounds me. I can only hope that it is more a reflection of broad-based cynicism toward the pols, rather than a deeply considered and strongly held belief.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation (at least from an American who grew up under the shadow of the Club for Growth) is that most Mexicans are not reflexively tax-phobic: 23 percent say they would be willing to pay more with no strings attached, while another 35 said they would accept higher taxes in exchange for greater transparency and accountability in public spending- While 80 percent rejected a value-added tax on food and medicine, 41 percent said that they would pay it in exchange for greater funding of public works, while 54 percent the VAT would be acceptable in exchange for increased educational and medical service, compared to 51 percent willing to fork over the VAT in exchange for greater support for basic needs.

And, for everyone with an eye on 2012: Enrique Peña Nieto enjoyed the voter preference of a wide segment of the population. In a hypothetical matchup with Marcelo Ebrard and Alonso Lujambio, the Mexico governor takes 61 percent of the votes, compared to 16 for Ebrard and 7 for Lujambio. In a race with AMLO and Creel, Peña Nieto would win 58 percent of the votes, compared to 16 for AMLO and 13 for Creel. Peña Nieto also scored highly (though not quite as high) in questions measuring the friendliest and most trustworthy presidential candidates.

Among the specific parties' possibilities, Creel is the PAN favorite with the support of 30 percent of the respondents, followed by Josefina Vázquez (22 percent), Manuel Espino (14 percent), and Alonso Lujambio (4 percent). In the PRI, Peña Nieto is the favorite for 72 percent, with Beatriz Paredes (14 percent) and Manlio Fabio Beltrones (4 percent) way behind.