{"id":25272,"date":"2021-05-01T00:19:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T00:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=25272"},"modified":"2021-05-02T17:52:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T17:52:14","slug":"money-alone-cant-fix-central-america-or-stop-migration-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/money-alone-cant-fix-central-america-or-stop-migration-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Money alone can’t fix Central America \u2013 or stop migration to US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Luis Guillermo Solis<\/a>, Florida International University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stem migration from Central America, the Biden administration has a US$4 billion plan to \u201cbuild security and prosperity<\/a>\u201d in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador \u2013 home to more than 85% of all Central American migrants<\/a> who arrived in the U.S. over the last three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. seeks to address the \u201cfactors pushing people to leave their countries<\/a>\u201d \u2013 namely, violence, crime, chronic unemployment and lack of basic services \u2013 in a region of gross public corruption<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Biden plan, which will be partially funded with money diverted from immigration detention and the border wall, is based on a sound analysis of Central America\u2019s dismal socioeconomic conditions. As a former president of Costa Rica<\/a>, I can attest to the dire situation facing people in neighboring nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a historian of Central America, I also know money alone cannot build a viable democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failed efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador comprise Central America\u2019s \u201cNorthern Triangle\u201d \u2013 a poor region with among the world\u2019s highest murder rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These countries need education, housing and health systems that work. They need reliable economic structures that can attract foreign investment. And they need inclusive social systems and other crime-prevention strategies that allow people to live without fear<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No such transformation can happen without strong public institutions and politicians committed to the rule of law<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protesters<\/a>
Guatemalans call for the resignation of President Alejandro Giammatei, whom they call corrupt, Nov. 21, 2020, Guatemala City. Fabricio Alonzo\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Biden\u2019s aid to Central America comes with strict conditions, requiring the leaders of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to \u201cundertake significant, concrete and verifiable reforms,\u201d including with their own money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the U.S. has unsuccessfully tried to make change in Central America for decades<\/a>. Every American president since the 1960s<\/a> has launched initiatives there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Cold War, the U.S. aimed to counter the spread of communism in the region, sometimes militarily. More recently U.S. aid has focused principally on strengthening democracy, by investing in everything from the judiciary reform and women\u2019s education to agriculture and small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Obama administration also spent millions on initiatives<\/a> to fight illegal drugs and weaken the street gangs, called \u201cmaras,\u201d whose brutal control over urban neighborhoods is one reason migrants say they flee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such multibillion-dollar efforts<\/a> have done little to improve the region\u2019s dysfunctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anything, Central America\u2019s problems have gotten worse<\/a>. COVID-19 is raging across the region<\/a>. Two Category 5 hurricanes hit Honduras<\/a> within two weeks in late 2020, leaving more than 250,000 homeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some experts have been calling for a \u201cmini-Marshall Plan<\/a>\u201d to stabilize Central America, like the U.S. program that rebuilt Europe after World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Hurricanes Eta and Iota flooded Honduras in late 2020. Orlando Sierra\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Costa Rica counterpoint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To imagine a way out of Central America\u2019s problems, the history of Costa Rica \u2013 a democratic and stable Central American country<\/a> \u2013 is illustrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica\u2019s path to success<\/a> started soon after independence from Spain in 1821.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It developed a coffee economy that tied it early to the developing global capitalist economy. While other Central American countries fought prolonged civil wars, Costa Rica adopted a liberal constitution and invested in public education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rican democracy strengthened in the 1940s<\/a> with a constitutional amendment that established a minimum wage and protected women and children from labor abuses. It also established a national social security system, which today provides health care and pensions to all Costa Ricans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These reforms triggered civil war<\/a>. But the war\u2019s end brought about positive transformations. In 1948, Costa Rica abolished its military<\/a>. No spending in defense allows Costa Rica to invest in human development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n