Sunday, December 04, 2005

Send Money

Send Money..........That is what they do. The Mexicans who manage to get across the border and find work send money home to their families in Mexico. So far this year it is estimated that they have sent back a total of 20 billion dollars. The State that I live in, Guanajuato, "exports" more manual laborers than any other State in Mexico....some 800,000 are in the USA.

Taylor, Texas with a population of about 13,500 residents has more than 4,500 Mexicans and the majority of them are from a little town outside of San Miguel, Los Rodriguez. They come home over the holidays if they can and they bring their savings to invest in building a home for the family or in the family business.

Although I can't find the reference now, I read somewhere that the money sent home by the emigrants is as much or more than the earnings of Pemex. These dollars are a vital part of the Mexican economy. Migration is a very complex issue on both sides of the border.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recently read money sent home is the second largest source of income for Mexico - second to Pemex ;-)
Calypso Juan

Anonymous said...

I have a few uncles and an aunt who work (or worked, one has retired) as engineers for Pemex in Salamanca. I'll ask them if they know if the remittances are greater than Pemex revenue.

On another note, I didn't know Guanajuato was the number one state when it came to "exporting" workers. I just told my mom and she was surprised. In Southern California, you would think Zacatecas was the major sender. I guess not.

Guanajuato has consistently been in the top 3 of sending states according to sources I've read. The other two are Michoacán and Jalisco.

Billie Mercer said...

Cindylu, I'm reporting what I read in the local newspaper about Guanajuato and Mexicans in the USA. Whichever State is the major exporter, it is a sad situation. I'm sure most of them would rather be in Mexico with their families.