The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, visited the White House on Monday, where he was received by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to address the key points to discourage illegal migration to the United States. Investment and support packages for women and indigenous communities were on the table, against the background of a new migrant caravan that is already advancing north and that left from the town of Tapachula, located in the south of Mexico and a few kilometers from Guatemala.
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The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, visited the White House on Monday looking for solutions to the flight of citizens from his country due to poverty and corruption, one of the strong points of his campaign, which promised to combat it. For its part, Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, received him to support him in his mission and remedy illegal migration.
Both agreed to support the fight against corruption in Guatemala, strengthen human rights and boost the economy. They spoke about Arévalo's outreach to indigenous peoples and prioritizing efforts to reduce what the official called “irregular migration” to the United States. For Harris, this migration is combated – as he said – “holding the corrupt accountable and promoting good governance”. Because the result of corruption, ultimately, is the “strengthening of criminal organizations and perpetuation of violence, all factors that drive people to leave their country of origin,” stated the vice president.
And as a show of support, investment: Harris announced a battery of measures for the Central American country, such as aid 170 million dollarsthe expansion of the Central American Service Corps (CASC) program for thousands of young people who are at risk of emigrating, technical assistance for reforms and the promotion of the textile trade, a key industry for Guatemala's economy.
The measures did not end there. After the meeting, both also attended a meeting of Central America Adelante, a public-private alliance that addresses the causes of migration in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and the sending of more than a billion dollars to the region was announced. . Since 2021, the organization has sent five billion two hundred million dollars.
United States, excited about Arévalo
The good harmony between Kamala Harris and Bernardo Arévalo was proportional to that of Joe Biden, who had not planned to receive the Guatemalan president, but finally did. According to a brief statement from the White House, Biden received him privately and praised his efforts to democratize the country and commit to good governance. The Democrat also wanted to thank him for Guatemala hosting a regional summit on migration in April. In the same vein as Harris, insisted on the importance of addressing the causes that drive Central Americans to leave their countries.
Today, I welcomed President Arévalo to the White House to congratulate him in person on his inauguration, and to reiterate our commitment to a strong partnership between the United States and Guatemala. pic.twitter.com/db8NbRv64E
—President Biden (@POTUS) March 26, 2024
Arévalo, who comes to power championing reformism in a country consumed by corruption and violence, tuned in to a Kamala Harris who praised the top leader of Guatemala.
Still, a dose of reality: both know that fighting corruption that has been rooted for decades will not be solved immediately. “The problems, of course, did not arise overnight, and the solutions will not be achieved overnight,” Harris said. But also admitted that there has been progress in the short term. Arévalo, who knows the country better, agreed. “Many of the problems we face are structural and cannot be resolved in a short period of time, nor without the support and cooperation of the United States and other key international partners.”
Arévalo's predecessor, the right-wing Alejandro Giammattei, had tightened the diplomatic rope between both countries, especially in the last months of his mandate.
New migrant caravan from Mexico
While the Washington meeting rooms were accumulating measures and arguments, the streets of Tapachula, in southern Mexico, were filled with migrants already walking north. The second migrant caravan of the year is called “Via Crucis Migrante”, it is made up of various nationalities and It has about two thousand people.
In addition to addressing the possibility of entering the United States, The contingent carries a cross and a blanket with the legend “murderers of poor migrants” and is already heading along the coastal highway of Chiapas.
The “Viacrucis Migrante” was created by the Center for Human Dignification AC, and its coordinator, Luís García Villagrán, is immersed in a judicial process for organizing the event and accused of “extortion.” He, for his part, alleges that he suffers “political persecution.”
With AFP, AP, Reuters and local media
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