Poll Shows Half of Mexicans Say Drug Violence Worse Under Pena Nieto Gabriel Stargardter - Reuters
go to original August 31, 2013

Relatives of one of 12 people abducted in May, mourn outside the Attorney General building in Mexico City August 23, 2013. The banner reads, "Pena Nieto, what would you do if they were your children?" (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

MEXICO CITY - Nearly half of Mexicans feel drug-related violence has increased since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December, according to a newspaper poll released on Friday, heaping pressure on the president who vowed to tame the gangs and restore order.

The El Universal/Buendia & Laredo poll found that 49 percent of the 1,000 people questioned thought drug violence had worsened since December, up 9 points since February. A quarter of respondents felt security had improved while another 25 percent thought it had remained steady.

The survey makes for mixed reading for Pena Nieto, who came into power vowing to break with his predecessor's military-led tactics and put an end to Mexico's vicious drug war.

Nearly 80,000 people have died in drug-related killings since former President Felipe Calderon sent in the army to quell the powerful drug bosses, a policy Pena Nieto has criticized but found tough to break with.

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