By THE PULSE NEWS MEXICO STAFF

Financial remittances by Mexican ex-pats to their families back in Mexico are expected to reach a historic high in 2021 for the sixth consecutive year, and to represent more wealth than the entire GDP oh countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Paraguay, according to a recent report from the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies (Cemla).

Considered by the World Bank as vital in helping to reduce regional poverty and social inequality in countries with developing economies, these transfers have soared since the middle of last year due to the covid-19 pandemic.

While initially analysts expected the total value of remittances to decrease during the pandemic, instead they have increased dramatically, due in part of economic stimuli in the United States, where roughly 95 percent of the Mexican migrant population resides..

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) recently stated that his government estimates that remittances will surpass $48 billion this year, while analysts from BBVA and CitiBanamex estimate that they could reach $49 billion, almost one trillion pesos and more than 4 percent of Mexico’s GDP.

Historically, remittances to Mexico have increased year-on-year, regardless of external economic factors.

In 2020, Mexico received $41 billion in remittances, up for 2000, when they totaled $9 billion.

Furthermore, for the first time in history, the remittances sent by more than 7 million Mexican migrant workers in 2021 will surpass that entire GDP of several Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Bolivia and Paraguay.