The United States announces a new program of 30 million dollars for the creation of jobs in the southeast of Mexico

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, at the White House.EFE

The United States will increase its investment in the seven southern and southeastern states of Mexico with a program endowed with 30 million dollars.

The plan, advanced this Thursday by Mileydi Guilarte, from the office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), seeks to support "the development of markets that are friendly to the environment, helping to have a positive impact on communities.

But the announcement, which ultimately means job creation, has a symbolic and political scope that goes even further.

It occurs in the midst of negotiating a migration framework between the two countries and Canada and in the midst of demands from the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador for a greater direct disbursement of funds to alleviate the phenomenon.

The United States ambassador, Ken Salazar, summoned the governors and high representatives of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán and Veracruz to stage the commitment of the Joe Biden Administration with that region and Central America.

In an act that was joined by the Secretary of the Treasury, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, and Francisco Cervantes, president of the Business Coordinating Council, among others, it has become clear that Washington has deepened its interest in that territory and wants to show it.

The area hosts some of the strategic works of the Mexican Executive, such as the Mayan Train or the Dos Bocas refinery.

But also, especially in the tourist hotspots of the coast, one of the favorite destinations of Americans, the Southeast faces a new security crisis that worries both sides of the border.

“President Biden is committed to the economic success of North America, including southeastern Mexico.

The success of Mexico is the success of North America”, Salazar highlighted.

The initiative of USAID, a government agency, seeks to "promote sustainable development and investment."

The diplomat has shown agreement with the Government of López Obrador and with the Secretary of the Treasury and has thanked them for the opportunity to promote a project -baptized as South of Mexico Generating Employment and Sustainability (Surges)- that has the participation of the private sector.

"This activity will invest in sustainable markets, generating sales and investment for more than 250 million dollars, beginning in the late summer of 2022," the US Embassy has reported.

This message is also part of the forthcoming celebration of the ninth Summit of the Americas, convened from June 6 to 10 in Los Angeles.

Regardless of the doubts about López Obrador's participation and Biden's willingness to invite all the governments of the continent, the White House wants to define a common position with Mexico and Canada, a kind of North American front with coincidences in economic, security and migration matters.

The importance of the contacts is also reflected by the agenda.

Salazar has left the act to join another, with his Canadian counterpart and the Mexican Foreign Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, a key man for the relationship with Washington.

The so-called Central and North American Working Group on Migration presented a report on the migratory crisis that affects the southern and northern borders of Mexico.

The report calls for respect for human rights and calls for addressing the phenomenon from a regional approach, since the vast majority of migrants leave Central America in search of opportunities in the United States;

It also concludes that the authorities must get involved in revitalizing the region's economy, eradicate corruption, change the negative narrative about migrants, and that the United States and Canada "must expand the availability of legal channels for Central Americans to migrate."

Foreign Minister Ebrard has insisted, in line with President López Obrador, on the need to increase investments.

“While the underlying issue is being decided, why don't we organize an investment on a much larger scale that allows us to reduce the human suffering that is being caused today by this indecision, by maintaining the paradigm of the last century with a totally different demographic reality? ?", has asked.

The disbursement of funds has always been a source of friction between Mexico and the United States because Washington usually conditions the sending of direct aid to the performance of the recipients.

That is also why USAID's gesture has special relevance in the political situation.

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