GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Aug 20 (Reuter) A majority of Mexicans living in one
of the country's most drugtainted cities approves of a the Mexican army's
performance in fighting the drug war, a poll released on Wednesday said.

Mexico's armed forces have been caught in a string of corruption scandals
since they were called on by President Ernesto Zedillo to lead the country's
antidrug efforts last year. But the poll showed they still had public
backing.

Of 600 people polled in the western city of Guadalajara, 77 percent supported
the job done by the army to combat drug trafficking, while 19 percent
disapproved, according to a survey by the respected Center for Opinion
Studies.

The same poll gave the army a rating of 6.8 on a scale of 10 for its
effectiveness in the antidrug effort.

Thirtyseven percent of those polled said the army is the best security force
to attack the drug trade, outscoring the municipal police (17 percent), the
federal judicial police (15 percent) and the state judicial police (14
percent).

Guadalajara is considered a haven for international drug traffickers and the
site of some of the bloodiest acts of drugsrelated violence in Mexico.

Guadalajara is also the former home of a fallen army general who was arrested
on allegations he was corrupted by a notorious drug baron.

Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, currently in a maximum security prison, had
been chief of Mexico's top drugfighting unit when authorities said in
February he was on the payroll of the late Amado Carillo Fuentes.

The polling center interviewed people on the streets on Aug. 14 and 15 and
said the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.