Opinion: More Americans viewing Mexico favorably

BanderasNews.com collaborator Ricardo Acerco writes in an opinion piece that the perception of Mexico among the U.S. population is improving….

The number of Americans with a favorable view of Mexico has grown, while the number of Mexicans with a favorable view of the United States has rapidly declined, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

According to the report, the percentage of Americans with a positive view of Mexico jumped 12 points since 2010 to 66% overall. However, party support does play a significant role in how Americans view Mexico: 78% of Democrats have a positive view of Mexico, compared with less than half of Republicans (47%). These partisan differences have intensified in recent years: In 2010, 58% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans viewed Mexico positively, resulting in just a 10-point partisan divide.

In general, American views of Mexico have remained quite positive, despite frictions between the U.S. and Mexican presidents. But Mexican views of the U.S. have deteriorated, plunging from 66% favorable in 2015 to only 30% favorable in 2017.

“I would suggest that Mexico’s unfavorable view of the United States is a direct correlation of the rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump, and his plan to build that ‘Big, Beautiful Wall’ that Mexico is supposed to pay for,” said Dr. Lisa Magaña, interim director of the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.

Interestingly, proximity to the border does not seem to matter when it comes to views about Trump’s proposed border wall – on either side.

Mexicans are overwhelmingly united in opposition: Only 3% of Mexicans within 200 miles of the border and 5% of those living further away approve of Trump’s plan.

In the U.S., only about one-third (32%) of Americans near the border and 35% of those living further away from the border approve of the proposed wall.

Sources: http://www.banderasnews.com/1711/nr-pew-report-mexico-favorability-climbs-us.htm

pewresearch.org • fronterasdesk.org

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