El Universal
What does this mean?How we determined this rating:
- AllSides has low or initial confidence in this bias rating.
Unless otherwise noted, this bias rating refers only to online news coverage, not TV, print, or radio content.
Learn about our bias rating methodsAbout El Universal's Bias Rating
El Universal is a news media source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Left.
El Universal rated Left in an April 2025 Independent Review.
An AllSides April 2025 Independent Review returned a Left bias rating for El Universal.
El Universal, on Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, focused primarily on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's response to the tariffs; highlighting how her policy may lead to further economic growth for Mexico. The article only provides Sheinbaum’s own perspective on her economic policy, offering no insight into how the opposition may view her policy, or any such critiques of what is proposed. Moreover, on the Pentagon investigating Pete Hegseth, El Universal displayed a picture of Hegseth looking angry and unflattering, what is known as photo bias. Additionally, El Universal covered a story on the capture of a Fentanyl trafficker and noted how the collaboration between Mexico and America led to the capture of a trafficker worth $4 million to the U.S; playing up the significance of the capture as well as the role that Mexico took in the capture.
El Universal’s criticism of the United States government, particularly during a Republican presidency, indicates a bias to the Left rather than the Center or Right. Moreover, Sheinbaum’s party (the Morena Party) is typically seen as a Left party in Mexican politics and El Universal’s seeming acceptance of Sheinbaum’s economic policy is generally indicative of a Left bias rating as well.
What a "Left" Rating Means
Sources with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Left display media bias in ways that strongly align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. This is our most liberal rating on the political spectrum.
Learn more about Left ratingsConfidence Level
Confidence is determined by how many reviews have been applied and consistency of data.As of June 2026, AllSides has low or initial confidence in our Left rating for El Universal. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.
Additional Information
Is El Universal State Owned?
In 2017, the New York Times (Lean Left) published an article accusing El Universal of receiving funding from the Mexican government to “dictate the news, telling outlets what they should – and should not – report.” The accusations were focused on El Universal promoting several government agencies on the ad space of its print newspapers, as well as becoming very close to “PRI” (Institutional Revolutionary Party – Lean Right party).
While this initially warrants a look into whether El Universal remains favorable to Lean Right politics, it is worth noting that if these claims are true, El Universal’s bias rating may shift depending on which party wins the Mexican presidency. It is especially worth considering as an AllSides reviewer found that El Universal generally posted content that supported President Sheinbaum, not content that criticized her. As Sheinbaum represents the Morena Party (Left party), El Universal represents a Left bias rating in their reporting.
El Universal Ownership and Funding
Funding and ownership do not influence bias ratings. We rate the bias of content only.Owner: Ealy Ortiz Family
El Universal is a Spanish-language newspaper and website based in Mexico City, Mexico that primarily covers news related to or relevant for a Mexican audience. The newspaper was founded in 1916 by FĂ©lix Palavicini and Emilio Rabasa with the website launching in 2013; El Universal has been owned by the Ealy Ortiz family since 1916. El Universal is funded by a pay-to-read newspaper print sales, subscription model, and advertisements (the online site is accessible for free with ads).