In Puerto Rico, a general atmosphere of pessimism reigns, which also impacts citizens’ perception of their personal finances and their future in the country, according to the most recent results of La Encuesta de El Nuevo Día.
In essence, La Encuesta measures citizen sentiment one year before the 2024 general elections and, in many respects, gathers the impressions of the first 10 months of the four-year term under Governor Jenniffer González.
The poll was conducted through personal, house-to-house interviews throughout Puerto Rico -except Vieques and Culebra-, between October 17 and 23, 2025, with a sample of 750 adults eligible to vote and a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.
Eighty-one percent of all participants believe the situation in the country is “quite bad” or “very bad,” with 44% in the former group and 37% in the latter. The most dramatic change is in the perception that things are “very bad,” now at 37%, compared to 27% in the November 2023 poll, an increase of 10 points.
At this moment, only one in five adults, 19%, feel that things in Puerto Rico are going “very well” or “fairly well”. That positive sentiment is lower than that reflected a year before the last elections, in La Encuesta of November 2023. At that time, 26% saw things “very well” or “fairly well”.
The evaluation reflected in this edition of La Encuesta for those who feel that things are going “quite badly” or “very badly” does not distinguish party affiliations. Seventy-four percent of New Progressive Party (NPP) militants feel this way, a number almost identical to the 73% who feel this way among affiliates of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC) and Proyecto Dignidad (PD), which are grouped together in the poll to reduce the margin of error.
Eighty-seven percent of those affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) also believe that things are “quite bad” or “very bad. This pessimistic perception also dominates among non-party affiliates, with 94%. Eight out of 10 non-affiliates who voted for Gonzalez (78%) feel equally negative.
Interestingly, this sentiment has a high degree of correlation with having experienced one or more power outages in the past month. Thus, among those who have suffered blackouts in the last month -which accounted for 86% of those surveyed-, a majority of 83% feel that things are “quite bad” or “very bad” in the country. In contrast, among those who have not experienced blackouts in the last month (14% of respondents) the negative sentiment is 69%, or 14 points less than among those who have experienced power outages.
The period between October 17 and 23, during which La Encuesta was conducted, coincided with three of the days in which almost 200,000 customers of the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority in more than 15 municipalities remained without drinking water service due to a breakdown in the Superaqueduct.
For participants, the most important problem facing Puerto Rico is the cost of electricity (23%), followed by crime and street safety (18%), reliability of LUMA Energy and Genera PR services (7%), and health services and rising food prices (6% each).
A key metric to get a clear picture of the mood of the country is the perception of how citizens’ financial situation is compared to the previous year.
The results of El Nuevo Día Poll reflect a complicated picture in this perception, with 31% saying their personal financial situation is “worse now” than a year ago, 54% saying it is “the same” and only 13% thinking it is “better now”. The remaining 2% are unsure.
Negative sentiment, expressed by those claiming their personal finances are “worse off now,” shows a 4-point increase compared to the November 2023 Survey when it stood at 27%.
For one out of every two people in Puerto Rico, 52%, their personal financial situation will be “the same as it is now” a year from now. But, among the rest, there is more pessimism than optimism.
Specifically, 28% feel that their economic reality will be “worse than now” in the next year, compared to 18% who believe it will be “better than now”. The remaining 2% do not know what to think.
According to data compiled by El Nuevo Día Poll, three out of four adults eligible to vote (74%) feel that Puerto Rico is in for a “bad” economic situation in the coming year. In contrast, a minority of 17% feel that the country could experience a “good” economic situation in the next 12 months, while the remaining 9% are not sure what to think.
Compared to La Encuesta published in November 2023, one year before the general election, pessimism shows an increase of 10 points, from 64% to 74%.
This majority that feels negatively about Puerto Rico’s economic situation in the coming year -74% among all respondents- dominates among NPP (68%), PDP (83%), PIP, MVC and PD affiliates (66%) and the important group of non-affiliates (86%).
Another important question to measure the mood of citizens focuses on their feelings about the direction of the country. According to data from La Encuesta, only one in 10 (10%) feel that things are “on the right track”. The picture is completed by 45% who feel just the opposite, that things in the country are “on the wrong track” and 43% who have a more mixed and less polarized perception, saying that “some are on the right track and others are on the wrong track”. The remaining 2% did not know what to say.
The perception that things on the island are “on the wrong track,” now at 45%, is the highest since the poll published in February 2023, when it was reported at 57%.
Similarly, almost half of the participants in La Encuesta, 47%, feel they do not have a secure future on the island in the next year, while 37% do feel they have a secure future in the next 12 months and the remaining 16% do not know what to think. When compared to the November 2023 poll results, the group that feels they do not have a secure future in the next year has grown 13 points, from 34% to 47%.
The survey also examined the possibility of moving out of Puerto Rico in the next year. In that line, 8% responded that it would be “very likely” and another 18% believe it would be “quite likely” to move, adding up to a 26% greater likelihood or aspiration to leave the island. On the other hand, 29% feel it would be “not very likely” and 41%, “not at all likely”.
Expanding the period of possible moving to the next four years, the highest probability does not change, with 8% feeling it would be “very likely” and another 16% saying it would be “fairly likely,” for 24%. Relative to the November 2018 poll, nearly a year after Hurricane Maria hit, the highest likelihood of moving in the next four years shows a decline, from 31% then, to 24% now.
Behind the story---
This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.
