The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, said in an interview to Efe that his government seeks If “work and opportunities” are generated, the migration crisis could be aggravated.
“Our intention is to make the United States see that we have to prevent these deportations from giving rise to a process of economic deterioration in a country where we already have worrying indices. If the effect is going to be that, instead of solving the problem of migration, we will exacerbate it, ”said Arévalo.
The president, who traveled to Montevideo to attend on Saturday, March 1 to the inauguration of Yamandú Orsi, claimed the recent agreement with the US to receive up to 40 % more of flights of migrants in an irregular situation, both Guatemalans and other nationalities, and assured that the details of the treatment “They are finishing discussing.”
Migrants who are not Guatemalans will be taken to their respective countries of origin at the expense of the USA, according to Arévalo, who wanted to make it clear that the treatment – signed in February during a visit to the country of the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio – “has been an agreement” and not an imposition.
“We are a scale in a repatriation process,” said Arévalo, who was born in Uruguay 66 years ago during his father’s exile, former president Juan José Arévalo (1945-1951).
“People don’t migrate because they want”
Arévalo explained that the Pact also includes American support in the development of strategic infrastructure “through public-private alliances” and the search for foreign companies that want to settle in Guatemala.
“People do not migrate because they want to leave, they leave because there is no other option for the future,” said the ruler, who was a deputy in the 2020-2024 period for the Semilla Movement party, the same one that co-founded and took him to the presidency in January 2024.
In Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, 60 % of its almost 18 million inhabitants lives in poverty and depends largely on remittances sent from abroad, which reached in 2024 the record figure of US $ 21,510 million, about 20 % of GDP.
Arévalo acknowledged that “the Guatemalan population is worried” because many families are going to run out of remittances with the return of migrants, but said that their government “is working with the private sector to facilitate the reintegration” of the deportees.
“Many of these people will be able to integrate the tourism industry, which grew by 13.7 % last year and need people who speak English. Many have experience as waiters, chefs or administrative in the hotel sector, ”he said.
“More than 250 complaints”
The ruler cited some of the measures taken during his first year of mandate, such as the creation of the so -called National Commission against Corruption or the presentation of “more than 250 complaints”, although he admitted that there is still a long way ahead.
“The perception of the population is that corruption is for the first time being fought from the Executive and not promoted from the Executive,” said Arévalo, who held several meetings during his trip to Montevideo, including one with the Uruguayan former president José Mujica.
The “Pepe”, concluded, “is a living example that the reconciliation of ethics and politics is not a myth, but a reality that requires will and sense of delivery.” EFE