Latin American Money Remittance Declines - Slumping economies in the United States, Canada, and Europe are causing waves in the countries of Latin America as migrant workers send less money back home. A recent report stated that for the first time since they began tracking remittances in the year 2000, remittances to Latin America declined in the fourth quarter of 2008, dropping 2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. Colombia experienced a 16% drop relative to 2008, Brazil a 14% decline, Mexico 12%, and Guatemala and El Salvador each dropping 8%. Nearly $70 billion was sent back to families in those areas in 2008.
Low skilled jobs such as construction, manufacturing, and restaurant and hotel work have been especially negatively impacted by the global economic crisis, hampering migrant workers who depend on these industries for income. The fall in remittances could have long term effects in the Latin American countries that rely on this transfer of money.
Remittances are the number one source of foreign income for Guatemala. At $4.3 billion in 2008, they account for more than the combined income from exports of coffee, sugar, and other goods. According to the Central American Institute of Social and Development Studies, 3.5 million people in Guatemala depend on remittances from 1.35 million Guatemalan citizens living in the United States. |
