El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have been center of debate on irregular migration in the United States, not only because they are transit countries, but also because they are places of origin of those seeking to reach the north of the continent. A report published by the Council of the Americas (COA) outlines strategies that could reduce the flow of people from that area of the continent.
“We seek to draw attention to three priority areas of attention: trade expansion, energy efficiency and infrastructure,” Eric Farnsworth, vice president of COA, said Wednesday during the presentation of the report. “We believe that the key is to fully empower the private sector as a valuable partner for regional development,” he added.
He document details that Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency establishes a “new era” in which greater attention will be paid to irregular migration, national security and economic development. Therefore, he says, Central America “faces increasing pressure to address the internal challenges that drive outward migration.”
In this sense, local governments would play a key role, he assured the Voice of America the mayor of Guatemala City, Ricardo Quiñónez. “It is estimated that by 2050, about 80% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This demonstrates not only a global trend, but also marks the importance of cities,” he said.
Quiñónez said he hopes that his country’s current government, led by Bernardo Arévalo, will have discussions with the incoming Trump administration to “deal with the global phenomenon” of migration.
In 2023, the total trade of goods and services between the US and Central America exceeded 100 billion dollars, a significant increase compared to the 34 billion dollars recorded in 2005, the report notes.
And although “the quality of exports from Central America to the United States has improved” with products such as clothing, medical equipment, auto parts and other goods, “the absence of regional entities that streamline procedures and work to harmonize regulations, “It continues to hinder investment.”
Anabel González, vice president of countries at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), insisted that the creation of quality jobs and investment in the private sector would increase the productivity of the inhabitants of Central American countries, especially young people.
“Approximately a quarter of young people in Central America have no education or income… and this exposes not only the lack of opportunity for them, but also exposes them to illegal activities, and of course, security is a very important challenge in the region” González said at the event.
The IDB estimates that the Central American region loses an average of 3.6% of its Gross Domestic Product due to the impact of crime.
Added to this, according to experts, is the importance of countries having a “long-term commitment” to the rule of law, which according to American lawyer Jonathan Hamilton, allows “creating stable foundations to build not only economic development that benefits citizens, but rather the integration of markets in the world.”
“The ability of the private sector to impact development is tremendous, but the public sector needs to bring stability,” Hamilton concluded.
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