Mexican Prez's approval rating stands 78%

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's approval rating stands at 78 per cent, an opinion poll showed on Monday, adding to evidence that the veteran leftist has started his term with a strong popular mandate. The figure in newspaper El Financiero was down from the 86 per cent rating published in a poll on Feb. 7. But it was a percentage point higher than the newspaper's first gauge of his popularity after assuming the presidency on Dec. 1.

Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, won the election by a landslide last July, pledging to end corruption, reduce violence, fight inequality and boost economic growth. Since taking office, he has launched a crackdown on rampant fuel theft, rolled out welfare programs and vowed to inject $3.9 billion into ailing state oil company Pemex.

However, a number of forecasters recently cut their Mexican growth projections for 2019, after economic expansion slowed to 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter. Rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook for Mexico to negative from stable on Friday, citing concerns of sluggish growth and mounting liabilities.

The El Financiero survey, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, was based on a poll of 1,000 people between Feb. 22 and 25, conducted at homes and by phone. A survey published on Feb. 28 by polling firm Consulta Mitofsky showed Lopez Obrador's approval rating at 67.1 per cent, up from 62.7 per cent in a previous poll.