The United States government announced new commitments to private investment of approximately US$2 billion in Central America to contain immigration, one of the main themes of the Summit of the Americas, which kicked off this Tuesday (7) Monday (6).
The announcement was officially made on Tuesday (7) by Vice President Kamala Harris. “Investments create an ecosystem of opportunity and help give hope to people in the region to establish a safe and prosperous life in their homes,” the White House said in a statement Tuesday. she said. The package amounts to US$1.9 billion in “new investments from around 10 companies” for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
With this new amount, investment promises add US$3.2 billion in private equity to the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America, where most of the nearly 7,500 undocumented immigrants crossing the border between the United States and Mexico have fled misery. fear, corruption and violence.
The flow of immigration has a political cost to the Joe Biden administration and could cause Democrats to lose control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
At the Americas Summit in Los Angeles, which concludes on Friday (10), five documents will be adopted in areas deemed important: democratic governance, health, climate change and environmental sustainability, the transition to clean energy, and digital transformation.
The Biden administration also hopes to sign an immigration declaration backed by Mexico. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador boycotted the summit, however, and will send prime minister Marcelo Ebrard to the event.
“Very good relationship”
“We are very confident that the countries that will sign the Declaration of Immigration will stick to their goals, and that includes Mexico just to make it clear,” a source in the US government said. According to Washington, the situation of immigrants at the 3,200-kilometer border between the two countries worries civil society, one of the pillars of the summit.
Leonardo Martellotto of the NGO JA Americas said, “The United States should tackle the immigration problem collectively, not from its own perspective, but by focusing on the root of the problem, but also take palliative measures when there are problems.” said. According to him, the role of the private sector is essential.
Civil society can contribute to solutions, but “only government can intervene,” he said. He insisted on the importance of promoting remote work in countries of origin and educating vulnerable youth and their referral families to get the most out of them.
Kamala Harris also plans to announce a women’s empowerment initiative on Tuesday, while the State Department will launch an initiative to promote the digital agenda and independent media to expand access to technology.
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In addition to the summit, the program includes the Americas Business Summit, which kicked off Tuesday night, a forum about youth and civil society in the Americas. Tuesday’s discussions focused on democratic governance, which was the summit’s nexus, according to Vanessa Neumann, a South American spokesperson.
“While Biden focuses on immigration, Latin American leaders are also concerned with development protocols such as close seniority or outsourcing. “Strengthening democracy and inclusion creates prosperity,” he said.
*with information from AFP
source: Noticias
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