Remittances: Angel and Devil?

April 2013

Billions of dollars that alleviate poverty but put conditions on the productive development of Central American countries.
Taking the example of El Salvador, whose economy over the last 20 years has received $40 billion dollars sent by Salvadorans from abroad, an article by Roberto Flores in Alainet.org points to the extraordinary influence of the phenomenon in reducing the poverty-despite the stagnation of the Salvadoran economy-but also its involvement in the country's productive matrix.

Remittances for $13.06 billion to Central America in 2011

March 2012

By country: Guatemala $4.37 billion; El Salvador $3.65 billion; Honduras $2.86 billion; Nicaragua $1.05 billion; Panama $592 millions; Costa Rica $530 millions.
Inter-American Development Bank Report:

El Salvador: Remittances Down 10% in October

November 2009

Between January and October, the country received $2.86 billion in remittances, 10% less than the $3.18 billion received in the same period of 2008.
On the bright side, the percentage drop was lower in October than in September, according to data from the Central Bank of El Salvador (BCR).

Remittances to Guatemala grow by 8.69 percent

July 2008

Despite the worldwide economic slowdown, remittances to families in Guatemala from members who live abroad have grown by 8.69 percent for the January-June period this year.
However, the rate of growth is down a bit from last year, when remittances increased by 12.64 percent year-over-year.