Sembrando Vida Intended to Stem Irregular Migration Northward
The Sembrando Vida program for which the farmers and their families are to benefit also addresses the issue of migrant flow that has been plaguing the region. For some time now, Central American migrants have been fleeing north for economic opportunities and, in some cases, for their personal safety. According to Ambassador Arnold, this is also a significant move.
Oscar Arnold, Belizean Ambassador to Mexico
“It’s an initiative that was start up to stem the irregular migratory flow of Central American migrants going north. It is thought that if you provide resources, if you provide jobs in the countries of origin, that would be a deterrence and that there would be less and less irregular migration northwards. So it would be an additional economic boost for them but it was a program that was rolled out in the three countries that is considered the northern triangle – El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala – where irregular migration has become a consistent blight on the economies of the north. One of the areas or the thinking is if you provide opportunities then there would be less and less people who would take that arduous and perilous journey to migrate northwards.”