Migrants Still Sending Vast Sums Back to Latin America
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WASHINGTON—Latin American and Caribbean migrants sent relatives back home a record $66 billion last year, but the remittances grew by the lowest rate ever, with Mexico and Brazil showing significant slowdowns, a study released Tuesday shows.
Remittances, which now are considered a crucial part of many Latin American and Caribbean economies, rose 7 percent in 2007, the first year that the growth rate has been in single digits.
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Terry said a combination of factors was behind the overall slowdown in growth, from a weak U.S. economy and dollar to a stronger euro and healthy growth rates among many Latin American nations.
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Brazil is the only country that saw its remittances decline, receiving $7.1 billion last year, down from $7.4 billion in 2006. Terry said this occurred because of Brazil’s robust economy and the strengthening of its currency from 3.7 reals per dollar six years ago to just 1.4 reals today.
Once the engine of remittance growth, Mexico got $24 billion last year compared with $23 billion in 2006, a modest 4 percent increase.
These numbers contrast with double-digit gains by many countries, Terry said.
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[Don Terry, the president of the Multilateral Investment Fund] estimates that Spain will send around $8 billion in remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean this year, compared with $6.5 billion last year. This means that on a per capita basis, Spain will surpass the United States, which is expected to send $48 billion this year, about the same as last year.
Recent numbers already show that Mexican migrants in the United States are sending less money back home than they were before. They sent $1.6 billion home in January, compared with $1.8 billion for the same month last year, a 6 percent drop.
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Mexicans and Central Americans work for similar industries, such as construction and food service, though often in different U.S. regions. In the past, analysts have suggested that Mexicans are more exposed to the U.S. immigration backlash because they’ve moved into areas where there’s historically been little Hispanic presence.
Another possible explanation is that Central American migrants tend to come alone, while Mexicans bring more family members and therefore need to send less money back home.
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(Posted on March 13, 2008)
Comments
I seriously doubt any drug profits are factored into these
figures. Therefore these amounts are somewhat less than true.
Whos said “crime doesn’t pay” ?
Posted by stripes 919 at 6:32 PM on March 13
And you at Amren all know that 66 billion, which by the way, is much more, is our tax money now don’t you???? They get it from welfare, social security that belongs to us but the lousy government gives our benefits away with both hands…..thank goodness for Amren….they know the truth and hopefully they will never shut down this webpage….
Posted by lydia at 8:33 PM on March 13
Taking that amount of money out of our economy every year, much of it untaxed, amounts to an “economic de-stimulus program” for america, another hidden cost of illegal aliens that goes ignored.
For comparision, with $66 billion, you could give 100 million US citizens $660/each, what a coincidence, that’s about the same amount as the rebate in the economic stimulus plan passed to keep us out of a recession!
Posted by steve at 8:59 PM on March 13
That money is the taxes they didn’t pay. That money should have gone to their free health care benifits, free schooling their illegal kids get, and all the welfare, food stamps and WIN checks they receive while working for tax free slave wages.
Posted by the Soviet Republic of New Jersey at 9:43 PM on March 13
A 10 per cent surcharge on international wire transfers would build a double layer fence on our border. All 2000 miles.
Posted by Edward at 10:32 PM on March 13
When you send this kind of money out of the country every year, it will have an effect. I am surprised that we are only beginning to have a depression.
Posted by flyingtiger at 12:35 AM on March 14
What happens to all that money when the dollar finally collapses? Piles of useless greenbacks sitting in some drug dealer’s safe will be worthless. Perhaps they’ll demand payment for their dope in Euros, thereby solving the dope problem here.
Posted by Wild Eyed Charlie at 12:44 AM on March 14
The $66. Billion does not include money for goods shipped out of the US,stolen cars, drug profits, people smugglers profits or the huge costs to taxpayers -mostly state and local for illegal children and families, housing subsidies, medical care, welfare or for the millions of citizens who have billions embezeled fro them in identity theft scams by illegal aliens or the billions in other crimes for which there are hundreds of thousands of non-citizens in US jails and sought for crimes in the US, nor for the damages caused by illegal aliens driving recklessly.
Send them all home and balance our foreign payments deficit,cut crime, reduce school crowding, reduce medical costs, reduce traffic problems, reduce cultural problems, end ESL and all programs which provide free information in languages other than English and make the foreigners pay for their own translators and lawyers.Over a few years that should add trillions to the net worth of the USA.
Posted by Oldman at 7:48 AM on March 14
You take that 66 billion and add to it the additional billions leaving the country for other third-world countries including Red China and Iraq and it is obvious America is being looted and bled dry by aliens and domestic corporate traitors alike. These are all billions that would have otherwise remained in this country to grow our economy and add to our prosperity. There is a cost attached to our turning this unprecedented greed and treachery around and if we aren’t willing to pay the price we are doomed.
Posted by at 11:40 AM on March 14
Well, this is bizarre, but here goes. I was listening to “Entre Mujeres” (“Among Women”), a show hosted on the local Spanish language radio station by two Hispanic women. They were speaking of the large number of women who are now, they say, being murdered in Guatemala, and at one point they mentioned the amount of money that hitmen there were charging to do these murders (no, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either. I tuned in during the middle of it).
Anyway, that’s just the boring background—the shocker to me was that when they mentioned the amount being charged, they didn’t say how many quetzals, or even dollars; they said how many EUROS!
Posted by H. Dumpty at 5:47 AM on March 16
>>>Mexicans bring more family members and therefore need to send less money back home.
Easily verified by visiting public schools, or hospital emergency facilites.
>>>The $66. Billion does not include money for goods shipped out of the US,stolen cars, drug profits, people smugglers profits or the huge costs to taxpayers -mostly state and local for illegal children and families, housing subsidies, medical care, welfare or for the millions of citizens who have billions embezeled fro them in identity theft scams by illegal aliens or the billions in other crimes for which there are hundreds of thousands of non-citizens in US jails and sought for crimes in the US, nor for the damages caused by illegal aliens driving recklessly
Another VERY INCONVENIENT TRUTH politicians prefer not to be reminded of! We’re paying well over a Bilion a month for the Iraq/Afghanistan mess — thanks to our Village Idiot of a President. Drive the damned illegal Hispanics out of our country and we can drive the national debt down substantially every year. As a bonus, the QUALITY OF LIFE for Americans will climb dramatically — in direct proportion to the number of Hispanics driven out!
Posted by Fed Up at 1:19 PM on March 17
Mexicans and Central Americans work for similar industries, such as construction and food service, though often in different U.S. regions.
How to fight against the Mexican invasion? Pack your own lunch. It’s cheaper and usually healthier. It doesn’t take that long to make a tuna sandwich and throw some frozen/cut vegetables in a dish. Everytime I have to go to a restaurant and see the nature of the help I mentally kick myself.
Posted by Alan at 8:15 AM on March 18