The pandemic pushed 3.8 million people into poverty, and 44 percent of Mexicans are now destitute, a 4 percent increase from before Covid-19. Mexico is the only major Latin American economy whose output will still be below pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, according to JP Morgan estimates. As a result, citizens are leaving in droves. Immigration to America from Mexico declined between 2009 and 2019, with more Mexicans leaving the United States than arriving, but once the pandemic hit, that changed. The number of Mexicans arrested in the United States increased by 50% from 2019 to 2020, reaching nearly 255,000. Already this year, 379,000 Mexicans have been detained, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection. Last week, near San Antonio, about 53 people died in the back of a truck full of illegal immigrants. At least 22 of them were Mexican.
“It’s attractive to work in the USA”
During a press conference at the Grand Palacio Nacional, just outside the capital’s central Zócalo square, which featured in the James Bond film Spectre, the Telegraph asked Mr López Obrador why so many people had lost faith in economic his policies and decided to leave the country. . “It’s attractive to work in the US where the wages are higher,” he said. “US wages can be 10 times the average wage in Mexico.” But America was not “accepting the reality” that it had a huge labor shortage and should allow Mexican workers to enter the country on temporary work visas, he added. “Will we continue like this or will we put order in the migration stream? Why not work visas? Why are we putting people at risk?’ asked. It’s a sign he’ll tell Mr. Biden. “What they need to do is allow the workers to arrive in the US in an orderly manner. I will try to convince them.”
