An Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) report released on Tuesday showed that the rate of remittances sent to Latin America has grown at a slower pace than in previous years. Though previous IADB reports have shown double-digit increases, the latest study showed that money transfers only grew by 7%. The amount of remittances hit a record $66.5 billion in 2007, yet there are several factors which explain the slower rate:The decline in Brazil reflected the strength of the Real against the dollar, which made it less attractive for the estimated 350,000 US-based Brazilians to send money home.
The attractions of the thriving Brazilian economy are also leading many migrants to return home from the US. Anecdotal evidence shows that many Brazilians in the area around Boston - a traditional centre of Brazilian emigration - are doing just that…
The US housing crisis and decline in the construction sector, where many Latin American migrants have jobs, was partly to blame…
All this suggested that tighter law enforcement against illegal migrants, especially at a state and municipal level in areas where Mexicans tend to be the dominant immigrant group, was playing a role. "The slowdown clearly has something to with it but the general atmosphere is more to do with it," said [Donald Terry, manager of the IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund].
Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia are the top 3 countries receiving remittances according to the IADB, while 7 countries in Latin America get more than 12% of their gross domestic product from money transfers.
Sources- UPI, azcentral.com, ft.com, earthtimes.org
Image- La Voz
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