Guatemalan Migration: Violence, Economics or ???
March 30, 2019 3:02 PM Subscribe
Just visited Guatemala for the first time. I was expecting it to be dangerous, violent and very poor.. In the relatively touristed areas I visited I saw none of this, maybe the opposite, Looking for articles, research, blogs that give political and economic background and antecedent conditions for Guatemalan migration to the US.
It appears that Trump has just ended all foreign aid to Guatemala. Bonus points for anything that includes analysis on how this will affect the current problem.
It appears that Trump has just ended all foreign aid to Guatemala. Bonus points for anything that includes analysis on how this will affect the current problem.
U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants (Reuters)
“We are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The department declined to provide further details.posted by Little Dawn at 5:56 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
The State Department said it would “engage Congress in the process,” an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers’ approval to end the funding. [...]
Democratic Representative Nita Lowey, who chairs the committee, tweeted that the move to cut aid was “immoral and more likely to deteriorate conditions that push people into the kind of poverty and despair that exacerbates migration.”
Best answer: Violence isn’t the only reason migrants are fleeing Central America. A four-year drought has destroyed harvests and lives—and has pushed the hungry northward.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 6:21 PM on March 30, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 6:21 PM on March 30, 2019 [7 favorites]
You know how the wealth gap is pretty big in the USA? I would wager that it is bigger in Guatemala. The bit you saw was nice, but what about the places that you didn't see?
posted by freethefeet at 8:59 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by freethefeet at 8:59 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: The Foreign Policy article was pretty clear on problems of income inequality and a need for land reform. The meta question is given the pending cutoff of US aid to Guatemala, what do Guatemalans really need and who will provide it?
posted by Xurando at 5:02 AM on March 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Xurando at 5:02 AM on March 31, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Little Dawn at 5:05 PM on March 30, 2019 [1 favorite]