Remittances and their Relationship with Political Crises in Latin America

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CNN Portafolio Global

Manuel Orozco spoke with Gabriela Fías of CNN Global Portfolio to discuss the relationship between political instability and remittances. Orozco also mentions the impact that foreign policies - specifically those of the United States - have on Latin American countries.

Comments by Manuel Orozco:

"People keep leaving for political reasons. There really is a substantial change, which is reflected in the growth of remittances, that has to do more with the fragile stability of the Latin America and Caribbean countries, where, for example, the United States has a high demand for foreign labor."

"This growth also coincides with a growing effort by the United States to reduce migration. There are instances where the impact of remittances on the economy of Latin American countries has been very important. The ECLAC, for example, recognizes that remittances contributed to preventing worse economic shocks that occurred in Latin America in 2019."

"I believe that [governments] understand the issues related to the problem, but they have not been to capture the size of the problem, and that has to do not only with US policies, which are a nationalist, anti-immigration strategy, but also with the sense that Latin America has not been of large importance for the US national interest. The problems that are happening in the region have been underestimated."

"There is a rather complicated contradiction that requires reconciling and triangulating US foreign aid, US foreign policy and immigration policy."

"The United States has been very proactive in establishing sanctions against the leaders of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. On the other hand, the Trump administration has deported Nicaraguans who have fled the country for because of threats from the regime or from the regime’s followers."

Watch the full interview at Portafolio Global CNN: