Migrations have always been considered a drama.
However, the President of Bolivia,
Luis Arce,
used social networks to celebrate that family remittances sent by compatriots living abroad reached the historic sum of 1,437 million in 2022 that "help the economic reconstruction" of the country.
Although he mentioned the effort, he did not refer to the reasons and sacrifices that emigration implies due to the lack of opportunities in his own country.
The remittance of financial aid from emigrants from the developed world has reached a significant volume in recent years, representing a substantial contribution to sustaining the economies of developing countries.
The World Bank estimated the total amount of remittances at 626 billion during 2022, which represents a growth of 5% over 2021 levels.
The report adds that it represents the main source of financing for low- and middle-income countries, surpassing, with the exclusion of China, investment flows and development assistance.
Southeast Asia received 163,000 and East Asia and the Pacific 134,000 million.
In this last region, India stands out with 100,000 million.
Latin America and the Caribbean ranks second with 142,000 million;
this figure shows significant growth since it triples the amount of 2005. Mexico is the main recipient with 51,600 followed by Central America with 33,500 and South America with 24,300 and the Caribbean with 18,200 million.
In the case of Mexico, it represents 4% of GDP and in Central America 12%, showing the dependence of their economies on family help.
Cuba is the most paradigmatic case in the region.
The ban on sending remittances ordered by
Donald Trump
in October 2020 implied a severe blow to the island.
Remittances together with medical services and tourism accounted for 85% of foreign exchange earnings out of a total of 10,000 million;
Product exports alone were 1.75 billion in 2021.
It is not possible to make a relationship with the GDP due to the validity of different exchange rates from the monetary reform of January 2022. With the CUP (Cuban peso) at 1 dollar, the official GDP is 107,352 million corresponding to 9,500 dollars per capita;
With the dollar at 24 CUP, the GDP is 22,717 million and if it is calculated at 120 CUP set by the Central Bank, it would be 4,543 million for a population of 11.3 million.
The Biden Administration in May of last year reauthorized remittance shipments, excluding financial companies linked to the government from the operation, to alleviate the situation of families after protests over the deterioration of the economic situation.
The figures show that the sending of remittances became a significant factor in the design of the economic policies of the receiving countries, which, by not being able to solve internal employment problems, encourage the expulsion of labor to developed countries.
In Latin America, Mexico stands out with its constant flow of migrants to the United States despite the nationalist rhetoric and Cuba's dependence on the contributions of those who left the country, often putting their lives at risk, due to the lack of future and repressive policies.
The amount of remittances forces us to rethink migratory movements on a global scale because it is no longer just a humanitarian problem or family help.
In many cases, migration has become an instrument of autocratic governments to get rid of opponents, obtain foreign currency and sustain failed policies.
Economist and diplomat
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