2nd June 2023

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has announced a proposal to allow temporary work visas for Central Americans in Mexico. The visas will enable regional workers to be employed on such projects as the Maya Train. Trades such as welders, blacksmiths and other manual work as well as engineers will be required. In order to link up the south of Mexico, which includes the Maya train, Interoceanic rail corridor and ports on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, AMLO said Mexico will require more workers. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a report published in Mexico City, there have been some programs in the region but migration is outstripping them. In the past 15 years international migrants have grown in Latin America and the Caribbean from 7 to 15 million, 5.3% of the world’s total.

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PHOTO: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a news conference at the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection in Mexico City, Mexico REUTERS/Henry Romero