Pew on Mexico

There is a lot of great info in the new Pew study on Mexicans' views toward their nation, public security, and their leaders attempts to deal with it, a chunk of which can be found above. The whole thing is worth reading, as always. Another element that I would like to highlight is the declining view of the military: the proportion of people with a good opinion of the armed forces dropped from 77 percent in 2009 to 62 percent this year. Other institutions also saw drops, but the decline for the army was the largest. This would seem to be a manifestation of the long-expressed concern that extended exposure to drug-war combat would erode the standing of the military.

At the same time, 83 percent continue to support the use of the army in domestic security, a three-point rise in from 2009. Collectively, Mexicans overwhelmingly support the army even as they thinks less of it. I guess the lesson is that there is no perceived alternative.