Mexicans may like America but Americans aren't as keen on Mexico

June 26, 2015, 5:47 PM GMT+0

Mexicans tend to have positive opinions of the United States, but this isn't reciprocated by their neighbors to the north

Since the late 19th Century the United States and Mexico have shared close diplomatic and economic relations. Today, Mexico is the United States' third largest trading partner, while the United States is Mexico's largest trading partner. Mexican-Americans make up over 10% of America's population, but despite the close ties there are points of tension between the two countries. Millions of Mexicans live illegally in the United States, while the huge demand for illegal drugs in the United States has turned large parts of northern Mexico into a warzone as drug cartels battle to control smuggling routes into the US.

Research from YouGov conducted in Mexico and the United States shows that Americans' views of Mexico are far worse than Mexican views of the United States. 70% of Mexicans describe the United States as 'strong' and 41% say that it is safe (though 32% also describe the United States as 'selfish'). 65% of Americans, however, describe Mexico as 'corrupt' and 49% think it is 'lawless'. A third of Americans (34%) think that Mexico is 'failing'.

This disparity extends to whether or not people view their neighboring country as a good or a bad neighbor. 44% of Americans think that Mexico is a bad neighbor, while 34% say that it is a good neighbor. Only 16% of Mexicans think that the United States is a bad neighbor, while 79% saying that America is a good neighbor for Mexico.

Asked whether the United States has historically treated Mexico well or not, most Mexicans (59%) and many Americans (49%) say that American treatment of Mexico has been good, though 36% of Mexicans think that the United States has historically treated Mexico poorly.

Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.