REMITTANCES IN THE CRUCIBLE OF REALITY: INTERACTIONS, LIMITS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CENTRAL AMERICAN CONTEXT

This article reflects on the collateral damage of remittances for countries that are highly dependent on them, using Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras as examples. In practice, what can be considered a paradox occurs, whereby the more people leave the country and the more remittances they contribute to the economy and society, the more difficult it is to turn remittances into an efficient and sustainable source of development. The aforementioned elements address the fact that in Guatemala, for example, the amount of remittances sent annually has increased 19 times in the last 20 years, but growth has remained the same. Despite this difficulty, the issue of remittances is considered central to trying to break the current impasse in the country’s development. But, remittances can only have an impact if the root causes of migration and the situation of emigrants are taken into account. The article suggests that cooperation projects focus more on immediate results and forget to accompany processes that strengthen and connect the actors, in this case remittance senders and recipients, as well as political and economic actors at the local and national levels.