GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An auto parts maker has launched operations in Guatemala by opening a new plant as part of a pledge by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to help create jobs in the country and keep Guatemalans to feel pressured to emigrate.
The Yazaki Corporation is the first company in Japan to establish itself in the municipality of Ayutla, in the department of San Marcos, in the west of the country, where Tecún Umán is located, one of the areas with the greatest passage emigrants in the country.
Lindsey Zuluaga, senior adviser to Vice President Harris, said it was one of the first commitments signed in response to Harris’ appeal to the private sector earlier this year.
The factory, which designs and manufactures cables and automotive harness components, has promoted itself as a center for innovation and manufacturing in the region. It has an initial investment of 10 million dollars and is located in a free zone, free of taxes.
The company benefited from the technical support of American cooperation through USAID (United States Agency for International Development). The American contribution took the form of the payment of advisers for 18 months, who provided technical assistance and support to facilitate the installation of the company in Guatemala on immigration issues or bureaucratic procedures.
The Japanese company plans to hire more than 1,000 people who live in the region, especially young people, until June. “Quality, well-paying jobs will provide a concrete response to the poverty and underemployment that drive Guatemalans to migrate irregularly to the United States,” Zuluaga defended.
On January 6, Vice President Harris launched a new phase of promoting public-private partnerships with the “América Central Adelante” program, which she announced in 2021 and which calls on American companies to invest and create opportunities economies in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. .
“To date, the Call to Action and the Partnership for Central America (PCA) have galvanized more than $4.2 billion in private sector commitments to create economic opportunities in northern Central America,” Harris’ office said in January.
Ryosuke Yazaki, President of the Japanese company, celebrated its commitment to Guatemala “becoming the country’s leading auto parts manufacturer” and added, “As we have done in El Salvador and other places in Central America , we will grow with the community. that we contribute to it through our company.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei attended the inauguration and thanked the investment. “They found the best place to invest and grow; Thank you for believing in this country, in our people,” he said. Giammattei explained that the parts made by the factory will be exported to the United States.
William Popp, United States Ambassador to Guatemala, explained that his country is interested in promoting activities that promote the economic growth of countries and that foreign investment is one of the fundamental elements for the development of any country and for provide opportunities for all. .
Poverty, unemployment and violence are some of the reasons that lead Guatemalans to leave the country for the United States, even at the risk of being deported later.
According to immigration experts, between 300 and 400 people leave Guatemala every day with the intention of migrating to the United States. The National Institute for Migration reports that around 1,000 migrants are expelled from the northern country every week.
The United States has said that one of the roots of migration is corruption in Central American countries, which is why it has sanctioned those responsible in these countries, including Guatemala, with the application of American laws. .