MEXICO CITY — President Claudia Sheinbaum’s approval rating plunged to the lowest levels of her term in March, as Mexicans expressed deepening worries about corruption and crime following the killing of a notorious cartel leader.

Roughly 54% of Mexicans approve of Sheinbaum, down 2 points from February and 9 from her January rating, according to LatAm Pulse, a survey conducted by AtlasIntel for Bloomberg News and published Thursday. Disapproval rose to 41%, up 5 points from a month ago and 10 from the start of the year, the poll found.

Sheinbaum remains one of Latin America’s most well-regarded leaders, and the dip came in concert with falling popularity for both conservative and leftist peers across the region. Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentina’s Javier Milei also saw downturns this month, according to LatAm Pulse. In Chile, new President Jose Antonio Kast is facing backlash voters over his decision to hike fuel prices.

A spokesperson for Sheinbaum didn’t respond to a request for comment on the decline, which occurred against the backdrop of mounting worries about corruption and violence. More than half of Mexicans rated corruption as one of their top concerns, while 49% said insecurity, a 10-point rise from the month prior.

The surge came despite the killing of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as “El Mencho,” in a federal operation at the end of February.

Mexicans overwhelmingly supported the operation, with 78% saying they approved of the government’s actions. But nearly two-thirds said they were worried or extremely worried about violence that erupted after his death. They were largely split on Sheinbaum’s handling of violence overall, with 38% saying she’s done well against 32% who rate her poorly.

Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, the face of the government’s crime-fighting efforts, fares significantly better, earning positive marks from 45% of respondents against 16% who say he’s doing a poor job.

The poll found substantial support for additional military operations against organized crime, with 42% saying they were the best way to target cartels and another 34% seeing them as effective when paired with other policies. Roughly 82% backed more cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico to combat cartels through intelligence sharing, but a majority said they would oppose U.S. military action in Mexican territory under any circumstance.

Corruption concerns, meanwhile, have lingered at a time when members of Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party have been involved in a series of scandals. A mayor from the party was recently arrested on accusations that he’d extorted numerous businesses, including prominent multinational corporations.

Morena officials have also faced allegations of links to a fuel smuggling scandal known locally as “huachicol fiscal,” although they have denied wrongdoing and Sheinbaum has moved to aggressively combat the practice.

Nearly half of Mexicans rated their economy as poor in March, amid slow growth and accelerating inflation that has fed expectations among some economists that the central bank will hold interest rates steady later Thursday. But they’re more optimistic about the future than counterparts in countries like Brazil, with 40% saying they expect the economy to improve over the next six months against 29% who see it worsening.

AtlasIntel surveyed 3,263 people in Mexico on March 20-24. The poll has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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