In Mexico, the U.S. Downturn Hits Home
But the remesas, as the remittances are called, have been falling steadily since the end of 2007, when construction, manufacturing and service industries began to sputter. These sectors employ a disproportionate percent of the almost 12 million Mexicans living in the United States, most of them illegally.
In 2008, for the first time, remittances fell 3.6 percent for the year, a jolt to government of President Felipe Calderón, who had been promising Mexicans that the country would escape the worst of the global downturn. Then came the shock. In April, migrants sent $1.8 billion to Mexico, a drop of almost 19 percent from April 2008. The central bank estimates that 1 in 5 Mexican families receives these transfers from aboard. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/13/AR2009061302039.html?hpid=moreheadlines