优蜜传媒

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The image of U.S. leadership took a hit worldwide during Donald Trump's first year in office, but nowhere more so than in Latin America, where the median approval rating dropped from 49% in 2016 to 24% in 2017. As low as the approval rating was for the U.S. leadership in general, fewer in the region, 16%, approved of Trump's job performance when asked about it specifically. Sixty-three percent in the region disapproved.

Trump's image was poor across the region even before the recent controversy involving the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Salvadoran refugees, and his alleged disparaging remarks about them. The U.S. president's approval ratings were highest in Venezuela at 37%, while his lowest ratings came from Mexico, where only 7% approved of his job performance.

In comparison, majorities in almost every Latin American country approved of former President Barack Obama when 优蜜传媒asked a similar question during his first year in office. Trump's year one approval rating trails Obama's in every country 优蜜传媒surveyed in both years, with the largest declines in El Salvador and Costa Rica.

	Approve (Trump)	Disapprove (Trump)	Approve (Obama)	Disapprove (Obama)	Decline in approval rating (2009-2017)
	%	%	%	%	pct. pts.
Venezuela	37	48	48	23	-11
Dominican Republic	34	50	72	4	-38
Peru	26	55	53	15	-27
Brazil	23	58	61	15	-38
Haiti	22	58	NA	NA	NA
Colombia	20	62	68	9	-48
Ecuador	19	61	50	18	-31
Honduras	19	71	65	16	-46
Panama	19	61	77	4	-58
Bolivia	16	60	46	23	-30
El Salvador	16	71	83	5	-67
Guatemala	16	72	55	18	-39
Trinidad & Tobago	15	63	NA	NA	NA
Nicaragua	14	67	56	14	-42
Costa Rica	13	75	80	8	-67
Jamaica	13	71	NA	NA	NA
Argentina	11	63	55	14	-44
Chile	11	74	72	8	-61
Uruguay	11	69	64	7	-52
Mexico	7	83	62	16	-55
优蜜传媒World Poll

Many Feel Trump Will Weaken Relations Between Countries

In 2017, 优蜜传媒also asked Latin Americans about the effect Trump might have on the relationship between their country and the U.S., as it did with Obama in 2009. Across the board, only a small percentage of residents believe that Trump will have a positive influence on the relationship between their country and the U.S.

Residents of Mexico are the most likely of all to expect the relationship to weaken, with nearly two in three (64%) anticipating this. In all 20 countries surveyed, fewer than one in five residents believe that the relationship with the U.S. will strengthen with Trump in office. In many countries, more than 40% of residents feel Trump will negatively affect the relationship between their country and the United States.

	Strengthen	Remain the same	Weaken	Don't know/Refused
	%	%	%	%
Mexico	5	24	64	7
El Salvador	5	26	56	13
Costa Rica	5	34	50	11
Bolivia	6	21	52	23
Guatemala	9	25	50	15
Nicaragua	9	25	47	19
Uruguay	9	37	33	21
Chile	10	33	40	16
Venezuela	11	16	60	14
Jamaica	11	25	52	13
Trinidad & Tobago	11	28	45	16
Honduras	12	24	49	15
Panama	13	38	32	17
Ecuador	14	30	33	23
Colombia	15	28	43	15
Peru	15	31	34	20
Argentina	15	32	30	23
Brazil	16	21	45	18
Dominican Republic	18	26	40	17
Haiti	18	30	32	21
优蜜传媒World Poll, 2017

In Obama's first year in office, the story was vastly different. Residents from every Latin American country surveyed were more likely to say Obama would strengthen relations with their country than to say he would weaken them. In five countries, majorities said Obama would strengthen relations between their country and the U.S., and several other countries had at least one-third of residents saying this.

	Strengthen	Remain the same	Weaken	Don't know/Refused
	%	%	%	%
Dominican Republic	67	9	3	21
Costa Rica	63	21	5	10
Chile	60	21	3	16
Panama	56	24	2	18
Uruguay	53	18	3	26
El Salvador	50	43	2	5
Brazil	47	21	5	27
Colombia	47	24	11	18
Argentina	43	28	5	25
Mexico	43	31	9	18
Honduras	42	28	11	19
Peru	35	29	6	30
Guatemala	32	35	12	21
Bolivia	31	31	11	27
Venezuela	30	28	10	32
Nicaragua	30	34	13	23
Ecuador	26	39	11	25
Paraguay	24	19	2	55
优蜜传媒World Poll, 2009

Even among the few residents who approve of Trump's job performance, there are many who do not feel he will improve the relationship between their country and the U.S. Less than half of residents who approve of Trump believe he will have a positive influence, while 32% believe the relationship will remain the same, and 14% believe Trump will actually weaken the relationship.

Bottom Line

With its "America First" foreign policy, the Trump administration has made it clear that it will pursue immigration controls and border security measures. However, this region remains an important partner in trade and security for the United States, and striking a balance in years to come may prove difficult when Latin Americans as a whole disapprove of Trump's job performance in his first year.

The same is true for how Latin Americans think the president will affect the relationship between their country and the U.S., with far more residents believing Trump will weaken the relationship compared with those who believed the same about Obama. Given Trump's recent actions and alleged comments regarding refugees and immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador, the future of these partnerships remains tenuous.

Download the Rating World Leaders: 2018 report.