YOUSEFF
Many Latin Americans
are transforming their ordinary and isolated neighborhoods into booming
economies for their native lands and some of their communities in the United
States. As seen in the film, Sixth Section by Alex Rivera, Newburgh is like the
Mexico of New York State for many Mexicans residing in that city. The Mexican
migrants that were documented in the film left Mexico to help their families
back home but at the same time, were helping some of the communities in the
United States. Some drive as much as three thousand miles to go and reunite
with their homeland with new ideas and messages for an improved innovation and
infrastructure.
A lot of money ends
up flowing into Latin American nations, which is also known as remittances.
This money is a huge help for these developing nations because it aids in urban
development and local economies. One example, as seen in the film, was a
baseball stadium that was built from ideas and income brought from the United
States. This baseball stadium provided not only more for the economy of Mexico
but also for the struggling communities.
A problem many of the
Mexican workers face, is the fact that they don’t have legal working papers in
the United States. It makes it very hard for them to commute back and forth with
some of their new ideas, which is why they usually form groups with at least
one permanent resident that can drive through borders without any issues. The
reason why many Mexicans move into the United States illegally is because of a
desperate need for opportunity and survival. The biggest problem many of them
face is the corruption of the Mexican government, which is not providing enough
aid for some of the struggling communities.
Mexicans in the
United States sent $10.5 billion to Mexico in 2003. A lot of that money was
used to help their native land in order to improve the economies back home that
were not able to get the aid needed from the Mexican government.
The practice of sending remittances is one that isn't new. However this post does a great job at highlighting just how massive this movement's become in the past 10 years or so. Remittances have to be some of the best examples of the resilience of people faced with difficult situations. These peoples home countries aren't providing what the people need so they do it themselves. If anything it goes to show how powerful individuals can be when they're determined. The real thing to think about now is, what could happen if instead of coming to America to send money home, they forced the governments in their home countries to re-evaluate their priorities. As was shown in the film "The Sixth District" the members of the Union had to circumvent local government because of the outright corrupt practices. If they can raise enough to build all of these social centers what could happen if they decided to turn their energies to something else? Just something to consider. This post was well written and certainly thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteI personally think the whole topic of remittances and their cause and effects is very interesting so I liked your blog post. It is so true that remittances are important for Latin American countries (especially Mexico in this case)and it definitely is helping their economy and the people who receive the remittances all around. I have a question though. What do you think would happen if remittances just stopped being sent back home? How would the people of Mexico for example deal with this and how would the lives of the Mexicans in the U.S. change on a personal level? Either way, good post.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely concur with Moses's comment.
BY CARLOS
ReplyDeleteWhen i was living in Honduras I personally saw firsthand how important remesas/remittances were in the national economy. interestingly enough, many people live from them and some people say that it gives them a reason to not work or seek education because they can simply wait for "handouts". Anyways, this is a great post and like the others have stated, remittances are here to stay. But with the tightening on immigration policies and mass deportations it would be interesting to see how that has affected certain Latin American economies.
This post highlights several aspects that are interesting, especially about Newburgh. Living about 10 minutes from Newburgh i am able to see first hand out Mexican immigrants have somewhat taken over that space and claimed it their own. Driving from my suburban town that is predominately white and very, very small its fascinating to see the transition that is being taken place. Mexicans in this area have claimed their space by the several stores of different types and thats just from a point of view of driving through. I too find remittances interesting but never thought about what Carlos brought up about people not working because they rely on "handouts", but you have to understand that with anything their will be people to take advantage.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting facts at the end with the actual numbers. I find remittances to be a vital part of Latin American economies through the United States. Its shocking to think though how in one year billions of dollars were earned by Mexican migrants and their families in America to help those back in Mexico...just makes you think how much a whole country makes alone in a year and what actually comes of that.
ReplyDelete