The “Marshall Plan” for Central America

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Due to the migration crisis, Mexico is ready to offer solutions that benefit most Central American countries

Facing the Central American migration crisis, Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has a great strategy to stop migrants from entering the United States, known as the "Marshall Plan for Central America" (named after the European reconstruction after the Second World War.)

Leer en español: El “Plan Marshall” para Centroamérica

The purpose of this proposal is to solve the problem from the root. "This is a 30,000 million dollar initiative to invest in the region and to receive migrants in Mexico with visas, medical attention, and jobs," says The New York Times.

Likewise, it was announced that migrants who are deported will be able to wait in Mexico and apply for a work visa, which means respect for the human rights of these people from the Mexican government.

Now, the key to this "Marshall Plan" is the development of the economy, not only for Mexico but for all Central America. The investment made will also go to the south of the country, as well as the creation of jobs to prevent migration to the north, as explained by La Tribuna Hispana.

Music for the ears

It is important to remember that one of the characteristics of the presidential campaign of Donald Trump was his position on the issue of migration, since on several occasions he promised to expel all those who were not from American origin. During, his government it has been one of the few proposals that he has been able to fulfill.

One of the most controversial measures was to separate children from their families, all part of his policy of "zero tolerance" to those who were caught trying to enter the United States illegally. Thus, according to Semana, at least 2,300 children were separated from their parents and placed at the disposal of the Refugee Office. There, they were taken to reception centers, even compared to concentration camps.

Considering this situation, the solution proposed by AMLO is perfect for Donald Trump. It not only helps fulfill Trump's promise, but it also tries to stop the migration to the North American country, to concentrate on generating employment in their respective countries.

Thus, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, published in his Twitter account the letter confirming that both the United States and Mexico made an agreement for "35.6 billion dollars as of January 2019. López Obrador also stated that 4,800 million dollars, of which 2 thousand will be destined to the Southern Border".

In addition to this and according to El País, "the Administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also promised an investment of 25,000 million dollars for the next five years in the southern region of the country. Washington will offer, aside, 5.800 million dollars to improve governance and promote institutional reforms in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

You may be interested in reading: AMLO: the National Guard would end Mexico's problems

It is not a triumph for Trump

Although this investment has Trump's backup, the fact is that both Mexico and the Central American countries are the beneficiaries. With this type of agreement, Mexico makes itself felt like the country that is no longer subordinated to what the United States says.

On the contrary, it provides new solutions for its neighbors, through construction and investment to build infrastructure, develop the energy sector, among others. In addition, the 25 billion dollars will be used to build the Mayan Train and the Dos Bocas refinery. The investment in the latter is due to López Obrador's interest in detonating and exploiting the economy in 2019.

However, within these formalisms, we talked about the controversial Wall that the Trump administration promised. Against this issue, both Trump and Lopez have not attributed who should pay for its construction, since they almost always name the other as responsible.

An ace under the sleeve

If for some reason the agreement between Mexico and the United States is not signed, United States has all the loses. Mexico, on the other hand, could have the support of China or Europe. In the case of China, the Asian country has already shown interest in the construction of the Mayan Train.

On the other hand, Mexico would show that it is willing to do everything to stop migration. The use of China as an ally would be a hard blow for the United States and more when there are strong tensions between China and the United States. In addition, The New York Times argues that "it is to remind that there is another powerful actor in the region that has proven to be willing to fill the gap left by the United States: China."

Besides China, Marcelo Ebrard has already met with the ambassador of the European Union in Mexico, Klaus Rudischhauser. As the Sol de México says, the European Union "looks forward to this plan, since it seeks to promote social development and economic opportunities in the region, through sustainable projects, helping to prevent the causes that cause migratory phenomena".

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "El “Plan Marshall” para Centroamérica"