December 17, 2018

Mexico’s President López Obrador signed an agreement with counterparts from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to create a fund to reduce the U.S.-bound flow of migrants from Central America. The four leaders agreed to design a work plan comprising “programs, projects and policies to promote and generate new jobs and address poverty in the region” (Mexico’s southern border and Central America). These programs aim to increase the quality of life in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and thus minimizing the number of potential new migrants. The agreement will be backed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL).

President López Obrador has proposed that Mexico, the U.S., and each Central American country contribute to the fund according to their economy, allocating 75 percent of the collective funds to finance projects generating new jobs and minimizing poverty, and the remaining 25 percent to border management and security. At a United Nations migration conference in Morocco, Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard stated that Mexico will invest over $30 billion in the next five years and reiterated Mexico’s commitment to collaborate with Central American nations to curb migration.