“Sowing Opportunities”: Mexico and the US Announce a Joint Cooperation Program in Central America

Posted: Dec 1, 2021 20:49 GMT

This policy “will have the purpose of reducing the root causes of migration” from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The governments of Mexico and the US announced on Wednesday the implementation of Sembrando Oportunidades, a development program that seeks to address the “root causes of irregular migration” from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be in charge of coordinating the flow of resources and the operation of Sembrando Oportunidades in Central America. as detailed by the Ministry of Foreign Relations (SRE) in a press release.

Program axes

Sembrando Oportunidades includes scholarships and financing for Central American farmers and youth.

In Honduras, the Governments of Mexico and the United States committed to support “more than 500,000 at-risk youth” through skills and experience workshops that allow them to achieve “a long-term job“, and in this way, reduce” the risk of irregular migration. ”

In El Salvador, the assistance will be carried out through the Scholarships for Educational Opportunities program, which was funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in conjunction with the International Organization. for Migration (IOM).

In addition, USAID would seek to complement the program Youth Building the Future, which was implemented by the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This national policy consists of the delivery of a monthly scholarship of 4,310 pesos (about $ 201) to people between 18 and 29 years of age to receive training in a company.

On the other hand, the Mexican Government, through Amexcid, will continue to implement the Sembrando Vida program, which consists of paying farmers a monthly salary of 5,000 pesos a month (about $ 240) so that plant fruit and timber trees. Washington will only help with analysis on best practices and will promote, together with Mexico, “good governance, a better business environment and greater investment from the governments” of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

While, USAID will provide cash transfers to Central American farmers to access “new higher value market opportunities.”

The Mexican Foreign Ministry highlighted that Sembrando Oportunidades “broadens” the shared vision between López Obrador and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on development cooperation as an avenue “to address the root causes of migration”.

“Sembrando Oportunidades represents the shared vision and joint commitment to promote a more inclusive and sustainable development in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after announcing the program in Mexico and the United States.