Posted on 12/09/2001 11:05:13 PM PST by sarcasm
Millions of Mexicans are probably thinking if their personal prospects do not improve in the current no-growth economy, they might try to emigrate to the United States. A report issued last week by the National Population Council predicts, in the foreseeable future, as many as 400,000 to 500,000 Mexicans will emigrate north each year to escape poverty.
If so, the Mexican population living in the United States will swell to 18.2 million in 2030, a number that does not include an even greater number of descendants. The report also states the flow of people northward will probably slow slightly as Mexico's economy improves. This might turn out to be an overly optimistic view, as the most reliable figures suggest an additional 2 million Mexicans will come into the Mexican labor force during the recessionary years of 2000 and 2001 and will be unable to find work.
The National Population Council s report was already on President Vicente Foxs desk, when he revealed the government s National Program for Social Development 2001-2006 last Thursday. At that event, Fox said Mexico has the ninth biggest economy in the world, but then asked: "What good is it to have such a leadership position, if we still have 40 million people living in poverty and excluded from development?"
The program outlines the very best intentions to promote opportunities for all Mexicans to improve their living standards and quality of life. It provides 1.2 billion pesos as the governments contribution towards that goal, but acknowledges most Mexicans will only achieve personal wellbeing through their own efforts.
The National Population Council report notes, of the eight million Mexicans currently living in the United States, about 3 million crossed the border illegally. There are also 14 million U.S. citizens who are direct descendants of Mexicans, it says.
However, the report has been criticized, because it apparently was concluded several months ago and does not take into account the current climate of economic recession, which has slowed migration northwards. Also, some estimates put annual emigration figures in recent years at closer to 300,000, rather than 500,000.
A key economic aspect of the emigration issue are the remittances Mexican workers send home, which are one of the nations major sources of foreign currency income. The Mexican economy has benefited recently from a sharp rise in remittances, which are expected to be over 8 billion dollars this year, an amount similar to what Mexico earns annually from crude oil exports or from tourism.
Some 1,250,000 Mexican households depend on such remittances for their everyday expenses.
Given the importance of this income, it is also a concern that fewer Mexicans may now be emigrating after the terrorist attacks of September 11 and, in fact, many are believed to be coming home after having lost their jobs as a result of the U.S. economic slowdown. This does not make the employment situation any easier in Mexico and this lends greater urgency to the Mexican government s efforts to reach an agreement with the United States on a guest-worker program for Mexican laborers.
Roughly a million Mexicans come onto the labor market annually, which, added to a net loss of about 200,000 jobs in 2001, means about 1.2 million Mexicans have joined the ranks of the unemployed this year, even before the impact of people coming back from the United States.
Another no-growth year for the Mexican economy in 2002 is foreseen, which will probably mean another million people will be unable to find new jobs. For now, there is still no end in sight to the deterioration on the job front. It is, however, likely the number of Mexicans moving north could grow again next year, if the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan comes to an end and if there are some signs of economic recovery north of the border.
Yes. Staunchly so. Doesn't everybody know that?
How many people does this number represent, 5-6 million?
stay in mexico i meant
Yep. That's why the Democrats and they AFL-CIO are actively opposing any type of amnesty.
LOL. Yes, they're shameless in their almost-rabid oppostion.
of the eight million Mexicans currently living in the United States, about 3 million crossed the border illegally. There are also 14 million U.S. citizens who are direct descendants of Mexicans, it says.
The population is therefore 22 million now. At a mere 2% growth rate, that would be 39 million by 2030, not including the 400,000/year (surely a politically-calculated underestimate), which would push it closer to 40 million.
Yes, it is the very epitome of "conservatism" to break the laws of the country you are sneaking into, collect welfare under the table, undercut legitimate laborers, and expect to have your illegal offspring, have their medical and educational needs taken care by the taxpayer(while you don't pay taxes).
Oh yes, and gain all those nice affirmative action job and educational placements.
Hmmmmm. Seems to me that when Englishmen and Spaniards went to the New World and sent the resources they found home, that was called COLONIALISM and everyone agrees it was a BAD THING for the Native Americans.
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