As part of her first trip abroad, the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, landed on Monday night in the Mexican capital, after visiting Guatemala, with the objective of reaching immigration and border agreements and ensuring commitments for greater cooperation and economic investment with the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
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The visit comes at a tense political moment after Sunday’s elections in Mexico in which the ruling party lost some of its power in Congress and the Mexican capital, coupled with political pressure in the US to stop the flow of migrants.
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The region lives a recent unprecedented migration wave and in recent years there have been several caravans of Central Americans fleeing their countries to Mexico and the United States.
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According to the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the United States, last April 1 were detained 78,120 illegal immigrants on the border with Mexico, the highest figure for that month since 2000.
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“We want to maintain a very good relationship with the United States Government, President Biden has behaved very well,” Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Monday.
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According to the president, countries are “working well” and that is why Harris’s visit takes place, who arrived in Mexico this Monday night from Guatemala for a 24-hour visit.
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Cooperation for development and migration will be the essential themes of the visit of Kamala Harris, who since March has been in charge of migration issues at the White House.
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The United States has a $ 4 billion program for Central America to boost development by improving security, fighting corruption, and reducing poverty.
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Meanwhile, Mexico seeks to expand its flagship reforestation program and its scholarship and apprenticeship scheme for young people, which are already being applied in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, albeit with limited investment.
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In mid-March, Mexico deployed thousands of security agents and officials to the southern border under the pretext of curbing the coronavirus. The event unleashed criticism because although since March 2020 the border crossings on the northern border were severely restricted, It was the first time during the pandemic with clear measures on the southern border.
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It is unknown whether an increase in security forces will also be negotiated during the meeting. It is also expected that other issues such as the shipment of anticovid vaccines to Mexico or the reopening of the border, essential to restore business normality, will be discussed.
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In fact, last Thursday the Mexican president thanked Harris by phone for sending one million Janssen vaccines from the United States, which will be applied in municipalities on the northern border.
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Your schedule of activities in Mexico
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Although the topics to be discussed in his visit to Mexico are mainly focused on the immigration situation in the United States, Harris will fulfill another list of activities.
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In the morning he will go to the National Palace to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. According to the official agenda, the meeting will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., Central Mexico time, after the morning conference.
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According to the special advisor to the vice presidency for the Western Hemisphere, Hillary Quam, Harris will contribute to a conversation with women entrepreneurs, in addition, a round table will be held with a group of workers and will have interaction with members of the US mission. in Mexico.
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Harris in Guatemala: “Don’t come to the United States”
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On Monday, in Guatemala, Harris, held a series of meetings and detailed in a press conference that his government will implement various measures with the aim of reducing migration irregular from Guatemala, including the creation of a transnational entity that fights against corruption and investment by private US companies in the poorest areas of the country.
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“Do not come to the United States, do not come,” said the vice president during a press conference at the National Palace of Culture, the seat of the Guatemalan government, to discourage migrants from going irregularly to the United States.
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Harris arrived in Guatemala on Sunday night and met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday morning to discuss various issues.
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In the afternoon, the US official met with around 20 members of civil society at a private university, before leaving for Mexico in the evening.
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