Remittances sent to family from Yucatecans abroad — mainly the United States — increased by almost US$1 million in the first quarter of the year.
This is a five-year high — and Yucatecans are getting more pesos for the dollar under current exchange rates.
According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in the months of January, February and March this year, remittances totaled over US$32 million.
Bank remittances from Yucatecans living in the U.S. — which in 2015 totaled over $134 million — are one of Yucatán’s greatest sources of revenue.
Around 180,000 Yucatecans live abroad, with large concentrations in the San Francisco bay area, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.
In the last five years remittances to relatives in Yucatán overall grew by 12 percent.
Billions of dollars
Nationally, Mexico’s central bank reported that its citizens living overseas sent home more money than the country earn in oil revenue. Slumping oil prices and improved economic conditions in the United States, home to more than 11 million Mexicans, is credited for this phenomenon.
Nearly US$24.8 billion was wired home in 2015.
But it’s not the top source of income for Mexico; manufacturing exports is.
Sources: Sipse, Miami Herald
