The perception of public safety as a decisive vote on public opinion in Mexico

Abstract

In which form can voting be affected by citizens’ perceptions of public security? Are voters really anxious to reward the presidents’ party and to punish the opposition when they think public security policies are efficient? This article examines the relationship between perceptions of public security and voting behavior. The research uses one national survey organized in 2010 by Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) in 2010 in Mexico. The main proposition is that citizen’s view of public security affects voting behavior but these effects are restricted by party identification. While perredistas are more sensitive to the effects of perceptions of public security; priistas are more easily affected by their perceptions of the economy. This finding can be explained by a more pragmatic behavior of priistas than that of perredistas who are more worried about social issues when they cast their vote.