On Saturday, the Mexican government said it would help Honduras create 20,000 jobs this year and support its coffee farmers as the two countries seek to curb migration to the United States , a phenomenon that has created tension with U.S. President Donald Trump .
President López Obrador
and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández pledged to work together to create prosperity in Central America , where poverty and violence have fueled an exodus of people headed to the U.S.
Migrant caravans
have angered Trump , who has made border security a priority, and issued economic threats against Mexico and Central America if they fail to contain the migration flows.
Speaking after the Honduran and Mexican presidents met in the state of Veracruz, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said López Obrador had given instructions to help Honduras create 20,000 jobs between now and December.
Ebrard
said that Mexico will invest MXN $30 million in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvado r each year; this is, MXN $90 million in the region per year, in order to create 20,000 jobs in each of these countries.
He did not provide further details, but the two presidents later offered more insights into their plans in speeches in the eastern city of Minatitlán .
Hernández said he was hoping a “great international coalition for mass job creation ” in Central America could be forged, while López Obrador stressed that Mexico would support the region with funds and employment schemes.
López Obrador
emphasized that Mexico would assist Honduran coffee farmers, whose businesses have suffered this year after a fall in international prices .
“We’ll help improve coffee production in whatever is needed,” he said, “so you have no problem selling coffee .”
López Obrador
did not offer more details but said that the schemes he has championed in Mexico to create jobs through youth apprenticeships and tree planting would come to Honduras too.
On the other hand, on Friday, Trump said he had reached a deal with Guatemala to curb migration, although the plan was questioned by the two politicians vying to become Guatemala’s next president in an election next month.
gm