Reply #44: Mexicans abroad sending less money home [View All]

[AnneD]

MEXICO CITY — Mexican remittances have fallen 2.9 percent this year due to the U.S. economic downturn, the central bank said Wednesday.

Mexicans living abroad sent home $5.3 billion from January to March, compared with $5.5 billion during the first three months of 2007.

Remittances are vital to Mexico's economy, the country's second-largest source of foreign income after oil exports. But the bank said it expects little or no growth in remittances by year's end.

In addition to the slowing U.S. economy, migration experts blame the drop in remittances on the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration.



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5744413.html

Again. this has the potential to have drastic political impact in Mexico and those of us living close to Mexico.