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177 侨民汇款支撑墨西哥萨卡特卡斯州的建设
Immigrant Dollars Provide Boost for Zacatecas, Mexico
Greg Flakus
Zacatecas, Mexico
16 Jul 2001 03:57 UTC
Poverty, 1)compounded by a severe 2)drought, has driven over one million people from the 3)rural areas of Mexico's north-central state of Zacatecas, in recent years. As a result, many areas of the state have been largely 4)depopulated and 5)remittances, or transfers of money from emigrants, has become a major source of income. Much of the flow of money from the north goes to a program that 6)benefits the people who remain.
The village of El Cargadero sits amid 7)dusty fields, in an area that has experienced drought for the past ten years. There is little work 8)available and yet there are no signs of dire poverty. Life is slow in the town, but it is tranquil. The streets are paved and clean and there are lights on many corners. There are also a number of well-9)maintained houses that are, at least for the moment, empty. They are owned by people who migrated - legally or illegally - to the United States, returned home with cash, and then went back to earn more.
Around 70 percent of the residents of the small town are living in the United States. They are a long way from El Cargadero, but most of them remain attached 10)emotionally to family and friends back home.
All 11 of 78-year-old Jose Miranda's sons and daughters live in the United States and he says they, along with many others who have gone north, maintain links to their hometown through Zacatecas immigrant clubs.
He says the lights on the streets as well as the pavement of many of the streets is the direct result of the clubs' 11)generosity. He says the clubs in the United States hold dances and other social events to raise the money they send back to communities in Zacatecas.
There are more than 200 Zacatecan clubs in the United States, 12)affiliated with 13 13)federations. The money they send back to their home state is matched, dollar-for-dollar, by the state government, the federal government and by local municipalities, in what is known as the three-for-one program.
Armando Esparza, the head of the Zacatecas state Office For Citizens Living Abroad, says this program has, in many cases, 14)accomplished things that the state and local governments alone could not have done.
He says that last year, there were 108 projects completed in the state, with some $6 million in financing, and that this year there is more than $80 million being spent on projects. Mr. Esparza says this program has been so successful in Zacatecas, that other Mexican states are now starting their own programs. He says President Vicente Fox wants to 15)expand it on a national level.
The man who has been at the forefront of the effort to expand the three-for-one program is Zacatecas Governor Ricardo Monreal, of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD. Mr. Esparza says the governor made his state's citizens abroad a major 16)priority.
He says Governor Monreal has devoted special attention to his state's migrant workers 17)residing in the United States, saying that he wants to govern for all Zacatecans, including those living abroad. In response, he says, immigrants from the state have increased their activities in support of their home communities. He says that while these sons and daughters of Zacatecas may be living and working in another country, their hearts remain here.
Of course the governor's policy also makes good political sense. With half of his state's population living in the United States and sending back over $1 million a day to the state, it makes more sense to look north for support than it does to look to Mexico City. Governor Monreal also favors a change in the law, to allow Mexicans living abroad to vote, something that would help him if, as is widely expected, he 18)runs for president in 2006.
But the governor and his supporters also see danger in the current situation. The 19)outflow of people has turned some 20)hamlets into ghost towns. Returning to Zacatecas from the United States is both 21)risky and costly for undocumented workers. As a result families have been broken apart, with mothers and children often remaining in Mexico while fathers go off to work in far away U.S. cities. The attraction of higher wages north of the border has also made it difficult for factories and other 22)enterprises to 23)recruit labor here. Many young men prefer to go north, rather than stay here and work for less. For this reason, state officials say, the long-term hope is that money from the state's far flung citizens will help build a better economy at home.
(1) compound[5kRmpaJnd]n.混合物, [化]化合物adj.复合的v.混合, 配合
(2) drought[draJt]n.干旱, 缺乏
(3) rural[5rJEr(E)l]adj.乡下的, 生活在农村的
(4) depopulate[di:5pRpjJleIt]v.(使)人口减少
(5) remittance[rI5mIt(E)ns]n.汇款, 汇寄之款, 汇款额
(6) benefit[5benIfIt]n.利益, 好处vt.有益于, 有助于vi.受益
(7) dusty[5dQstI]adj.满是灰尘的, 含糊的
(8) available[E5veIlEb(E)l]adj.可用到的, 可利用的, 有用的, 有空的, 接受探访的
(9) maintain[meIn5teIn]vt.维持, 维修, 继续, 供养, 主张
(10) emotionally adv.在情绪上
(11) generosity[dVenE5rRsItI]n.慷慨, 宽大
(12) affiliated adj.附属的, 有关连的
(13) federation[fedE5reIF(E)n]n.同盟, 联邦, 联合, 联盟
(14) accomplish[E5kQmplIF]vt.完成, 达到, 实现
(15) expand[Ik5spAnd]vt.使膨胀, 详述, 扩张vi.张开, 发展
(16) priority[praI5RrItI; (?@) -C:r-]n.先, 前, 优先, 优先权
(17) reside[rI5zaId]vi.居住
(18) run for v.竞选, 赶快去请
(19) outflow[5aJtflEJ]n.流出, 流出物
(20) hamlet[5hAmlIt]n.小村, 部落
(21) risky[5rIskI]adj.危险的
(22) enterprise[5entEpraIz]n.企业, 事业, 计划, 事业心
(23) recruit[rI5kru:t]n.新兵, 新分子vt.使恢复, 补充vi.征募新兵, 复原
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