The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a rural development project in Guatemala. Mileydi Guilarte, deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, comments on the motivations for cooperation with the country.
What does the rural financial inclusion program consist of?
There are several programs that have been announced in recent weeks and this day. This project was essentially launched and announced when administrator Samantha Power was there. It is a project that will have a focus on the highlands, to create opportunities not only for investment, but also to promote employment in the rural areas of the country.
It’s a multi-year project, and we’re getting started now, but essentially the goal is to increase economic growth in the most needy areas of the country.
What are the priority projects?
We have many projects in the country. We have had a very long and close relationship with the Guatemalan people. At this time, our focus is on supporting the administration of —Bernardo— Arévalo, to advance in the areas they have prioritized (…); But the Guatemalan people are the ones who decide the priorities, and we are willing to collaborate and be sure that we can be aligned on the priorities that are defined.
In what area are you working to promote economic development?
We work with a number of partners, not just in this government; We work with the private sector, to serve as a bridge. We are in dialogue with communities and economic institutions. I think it is a shared responsibility.
We see this effort and this new beginning in Guatemala, that everyone has to be at the table to give their opinion, decide, and we are here to accompany.
One of the topics we talked about this morning is how to create opportunities from the Ministry of Labor so that more Guatemalans do not have to make the decision to immigrate irregularly. There are what we call H2 visas, which are temporary visas. This gives the opportunity to go to work seasonally, earn income, be able to return and at the same time not have this separation of families, the cost of living.
That is something that as a cooperation agency we have had a very specific investment that follows the immigration point but also the family fabric, which is so important.
Is there any announcement to grant more visas of this type?
I am not aware of any announcement at present, but it is constantly something that the administrator Samantha Power of our agency is always coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security who are part of the decision to increase that visa per country, but from the beginning the administration Biden-Harris has made it essential that viable and legal opportunities must be created so that immigrants can have a better opportunity, so we work hard to advocate for those visas to increase.
We also work on the business side in the United States, so that they see the great potential of recruiting Guatemalan men and women to do these jobs that are so necessary.
When we talk about the private sector, we think of large companies. Do you also talk to small business owners?
Yes, when we say the private sector, it is a very wide range, because many of our resources in various projects that we have defined over time are focused on those small and medium-sized companies, but also go beyond and make them women who have also more access to those loans, to those services, because they are the pillar of the communities, of the family.
So we do go much further than already established and mature companies. It is going beyond the companies that are the best known, at all levels.
It is seen that the focus of supporting the projects is to reduce irregular migration…
There are many factors. One that is not always highlighted is corruption, and I think there are many countries in the region where services have been limited, and it was seen during the pandemic. This caused a domino effect and families could not wait; So, the only option they see is unfortunately to fall into the clutches of these human traffickers, and what we have seen is that hunger does not wait.
It is a shared responsibility, from security to governance, to be better for our people.
I believe that this is a very important factor and that it is something that the new administration of President Arévalo has made a central point and the resources have to reach all the people, especially those who have been marginalized for so long. This should be an outstanding debt to the country, and that has to change.
#hunger #wait