• RECORD: Mexican migrants abroad sent home a record US $40.6 billion in 2020 amidst the coronavirus downturn, according to Central Bank figures. For the first time in 15 years, the western state of Michoacán lost its place as top receiving state to neighboring Jalisco, per BBVA Research.
• FIGURES: The new figures show that remittances to Mexico grew 11.4 percent from the US $36 billion received in 2019. Analysts say one third of remittances in 2020 originated in California and it is the result of the US direct economic stimulus, restrictions to travel and the exchange rate.
• COMPARISON: “The amount of remittances (to Mexico) in 2020…exceeds Mexico’s approved federal budget for the Ministries of Education, Health, Labor, Welfare and Culture in 2021 taken together”, said BBVA Research’s specialist Juan José Li Ng in a research note.
• MONTHLY: The largest increase in remittances to Mexico occurred in March just as the coronavirus pandemic was settling down. On that month, Mexican migrants sent home a record US $4 billion. Remittances to Mexico have increased consistently since 2013 according to official figures.
