The June 8 news article "In Guatemala, Harris offers stern words on corruption" reported extensively on Vice President Harris's travel to Guatemala, where the United States, by offering financial cooperation, hopes to reduce the flow of illegal migration from Central America and stimulate better behaviors, e.g., less corruption.
Though those financial contributions are indeed important, they are peanuts when compared with the remittances sent home by the migrant workers. The reality is that what the migrant workers from many Central American nations earn abroad is often much more than the gross domestic product of their home countries. The sad reality is that their remittances help to keep in power those ineffective governments that made them immigrate and that keeps them from going home.
If the United States really wants to help, then look to politically empower as much as possible those migrants in their homelands. For instance, should they not have an important direct representation in their respective congresses? No remittances without representation!
Not the first time on the subject, nor hopefully the last:
https://theamericanunion.blogspot.com/2003/08/family-remittances.html
https://theamericanunion.blogspot.com/2006/07/scaling-up-imagination-about.html
https://theamericanunion.blogspot.com/2008/02/unknown-and-real-power-of-emigrant-from.html
PS. Around the world there are approximately 5 million Venezuelan emigrants of legal age. Of these only 69,211 were allowed to vote July 28. What if they had all voted? 🤔
