Feb 122011
 

The graph below shows the trend in the total value of remittance payments sent home by Mexican migrant workers employed in the USA.

Remittances to Mexico, 2003-2010

Remittances to Mexico, 2003-2010

The graph shows how the total value of remittances sent home to Mexico rose rapidly from 2003 to 2007 before declining slightly in 2008 and then crashing in 2009 as the full effects of the recession in the USA became apparent. The good news for 2010 is that remittances have increased slightly; the bad news is that the increase is very, very small. Remittances remain well below their 2007 level.

The total value of remittances in 2010 was 21.271 billion dollars. Given change in the dollar-peso exchange rate over the year, and even before considering the impact of inflation, families that received the same number of dollars in 2010 as in 2009 were actually significantly worse off, with the lowest income families hit disproportionately hard.

Of the 32 states, the following 13 states all had lower remittances in 2010 than in 2009:

  • Chiapas
  • Hidalgo
  • Veracruz
  • State of México
  • Nuevo León
  • Tamaulipas
  • Tabasco
  • Chihuahua
  • Querétaro
  • Campeche
  • Nayarit
  • Puebla
  • Oaxaca

The “winners” who received more remittances in 2010 than in 2009 were:

  • Baja California
  • Baja California Sur
  • Sonora
  • Aguascalientes
  • Colima.

Related posts on this bog:

Migration between Mexico and the USA is the focus of chapter 25 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…

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