Fewer than half of Mexicans say their government is making progress in its campaign against drug cartels. Still, an overwhelming majority continues to endorse the use of the Mexican army to fight drug traffickers, virtually unchanged in recent years.
As drug violence continues to plague their country, Mexicans largely endorse President Felipe Calderón’s campaign against drug cartels. Most also believe the Mexican military is making progress in the drug war, although they are less likely to hold this view now than was the case one year ago.
Mexicans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction of their country and nearly six-in-ten say those who leave their country for the United States enjoy a better life there. One-in-three would move to the U.S. if they had the opportunity.
A 47-nation survey finds that as economic growth has surged in much of Latin America, East Europe and Asia over the past five years, people are expressing greater satisfaction with their personal lives, family incomes and national conditions. The picture is different in most advanced nations, where growth has been less robust and citizen satisfaction has changed little since 2002.
The vast majority of undocumented migrants from Mexico were gainfully employed before they left for the United States. Thus, failure to find work at home does not seem to be the primary reason that the estimated 6.3 million undocumented migrants from Mexico have come to the U.S.
Most Mexican migrants want to remain in this country indefinitely but would participate in a temporary worker program that granted them legal status for a time and eventually required them to return to Mexico.
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