Something important just shifted in Mexico, and it is not yet fully priced in abroad. A new political-risk index now puts Mexico on the same risk level as Peru, a country famous for having eight presidents in ten years and constant turmoil.
In November, Mexico’s score jumped from 47 to 55 on a 0–100 scale that measures how fragile institutions are, how angry streets feel and how deeply crime and corruption cut into daily life.
Behind that number are real events. Ten mayors have been murdered this year. The most shocking case was Carlos Manzo in Uruapan, gunned down during a Day of the Dead celebration. He had pushed for a tougher line on cartels.
His killing became a rallying point for a TikTok-driven, Generation Z protest wave that brought thousands into Mexico City. What began as a peaceful march against cartel violence and corruption ended in clashes, injured police and civilians.
Polls show what many Mexicans expect next: more gang-related killings, more robberies, more street protests and more big corruption scandals. When asked about the country’s main problems, they put corruption first, then insecurity, then inflation.
Mexico shifts under rising insecurity and public frustration
It is a picture of a society that feels exposed and badly protected. President Claudia Sheinbaum still has a solid approval rating above 60 percent, but her disapproval is rising.
She is also wrestling with a growing fuel-smuggling scandal that touches powerful institutions and has already cost the attorney general his job. At the same time, many people still say the Navy is doing a good job and see the armed forces as more trustworthy than the political class.
The deeper story sits in the map of ideas. Nearly half the country says it has no clear ideology, and among those who do, the right clearly outweighs the left. For expats, investors and foreign partners, that combination matters.
Mexico is still far from collapse, but it is no longer the quiet, predictable anchor it once sold itself to be. It is a country where a frustrated middle, emboldened youth and hard security realities are starting to pull in a new direction.