SAN CRISTOBAL DE TOTONICAPAN, Guatemala — Dressed in a bright orange shirt, Francisco Gomez yells and uses his arms to vigorously direct the myriad souped-up buses at the crossroads known as Cuatro Caminos, or Four Roads.
This used-car salesman inspired a generation of migrants in New Jersey This is the busy roadway one local called “the last adios” — where every day hundreds of Guatemalan migrants from the country’s impoverished western highlands begin their 1,000-mile-plus journey to the US border. Despite recent moves by the US and Guatemalan governments to warn migrants against making the perilous trek, Cuatro Caminos — a muddy sprawl of lean-to barbecue-chicken shacks and wandering, emaciated dogs — has never been busier.
“Nobody cares what the government does,” said Gomez, 51, who has been directing bus traffic here for the last 20 years. He begins work every day at 6 a.m.
“The migrants come from everywhere at all hours of the day and night,” he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the zooming buses and taxis and directing passengers loaded with sacks and backpacks into the right vehicles. “It will never stop.”
In addition to locals who board buses for the three-hour ride to Tapachula and other towns on Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, migrants from El Salvador and Honduras also converge here to change buses that will carry them north.
For the last year, the Guatemalan government has created a series of TV, radio and social-media ads to persuade migrants to stay home.
But the flashy ad campaign is no match for the word of mouth spread by smugglers, known as coyotes or “polleros,” Spanish for chicken farmers or herders.
Although the polleros charge $3,500 to $13,000 per person to take migrants on what is often a harrowing journey on bus and foot through jungle and desert routes often used by drug gangs, the demand for their services has never been more intense, said Gabriel Escobar, a local reporter who has covered migrants.
“Coyotes live in the local communities, and they don’t need to advertise because people seek them out,” he said. “Everyone knows who they are.”
Most Americans can't come up with $400 for emergencies, allegedly. But if you can come up with thousands of dollars to travel to the USA, you ain't suffering absolute poverty by any stretch of the imagination. They come here for the benefits, not because they are starving or at risk of being thrown into re-education camps.
I can tell you from living in the 2nd poorest country in South America for years now that people have a lot more money than officially reported, because it's a cash economy. Nobody uses checks, all bills are paid in cash. People covered in cement go to McD's or Pancholos and drop $40 on Friday night for burgers for the whole extended fam. Even in the rough areas, there's a Samsung 42" Screen glowing with futbol in the night in every home. Every family has at least one car, many two or three. The dirt poorest young couple has a modern flat screen TV and at least a Moped.
invite response
https://nypost.com/2019/06/01/government-warnings-cant-turn-back-migrants-from-guatemala/
Most Americans can't come up with $400 for emergencies, allegedly. But if you can come up with thousands of dollars to travel to the USA, you ain't suffering absolute poverty by any stretch of the imagination. They come here for the benefits, not because they are starving or at risk of being thrown into re-education camps.
I can tell you from living in the 2nd poorest country in South America for years now that people have a lot more money than officially reported, because it's a cash economy. Nobody uses checks, all bills are paid in cash. People covered in cement go to McD's or Pancholos and drop $40 on Friday night for burgers for the whole extended fam. Even in the rough areas, there's a Samsung 42" Screen glowing with futbol in the night in every home. Every family has at least one car, many two or three. The dirt poorest young couple has a modern flat screen TV and at least a Moped.