As President Obama Heads to Mexico, Americans Have Mixed Views of Neighbor Across the Border

President Obama will visit Mexico on May 2, where he is expected to discuss ways to deepen US-Mexico economic relations and reinforce cultural and commercial ties between the two countries. While still plagued  by issues related to organized crime, today Mexico has one of the world’s fastest growing  economies, and it is the United States’ second largest trading partner and third largest source of oil.

But a just-completed survey (April 12-14) conducted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that American views of Mexico are at their lowest point ever in Chicago Council  surveys  and  relatively  few  are  aware  of  the  depth of bilateral   economic  integration.  At  the same  time, however, a majority still say that ties with Mexico are important and consider Mexico an economic partner rather than a rival. Taken together, the results suggest that increased public awareness of bilateral endeavors could boost support for increased economic and energy integration in the future.