Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has raised the importance of generating job opportunities and conditions that counteract the migratory phenomenon. He says these moves would improve the quality of life of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“It is a humanitarian issue of the first order that originates from the lack of opportunities, as we all know, from the lack of employment opportunities, from the lack of well-being. Also due to blockades and decisions made from abroad,” he said.
He explained that the Sowing Life and Youth Building the Future programs, created and financed by his government, have given positive results in El Salvador, Honduras , Guatemala, Belize and Cuba, where they are currently applied.
Those registered in the program decided to stay in their countries of origin and not expose themselves to the risks of trying to reach the United States.
“Where these programs are being applied, we have done evaluations and it has been shown that those who intended to emigrate stay in their places of origin because no one leaves their town by choice, they do so out of necessity,” he noted.
“We have to act and we can do it. We can help each other and that is the purpose of this meeting, to agree to work together so that they have our support, our cooperation in everything to address the causes,” he added.
He mentioned Mexico will continue talks with the United States government to urge it to provide greater economic resources to ensure the application of more initiatives to benefit the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The resources allocated to arms production for wars are much more than what is allocated to cooperation for development, to the search for the well-being of people, despite the fact that we know that peace and tranquility are fruits of justice.
“However, we are trying to convince them that we must participate together, progress is slow, but we are not going to give up, we are going to continue raising this issue with the United States government,” he added.
López Obrador recalled that Mexico is a receiving country for the migrant population, which is why it guarantees their human rights and protects them from the southern border to the northern one, however, the journey represents risks that can be avoided through timely attention to the needs of people from their nations of origin.
“We have recently witnessed a considerable increase in migratory flows. (…) We take care of migrants, however, there are many risks on the journey north, There are human traffickers, there is organized crime that kidnap, that eliminates migrants and also many traffic and transportation accidents.
Unfortunately, vans with migrants are constantly overturning, suffocation in the trailer boxes and many migrants are losing their lives,” he said.
The President reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Mexico to cooperate and seek solutions together.
