Remittances surge in May
Family remittances sent to El Salvador set a monthly record in May of almost $900 million. The flow of dollars into El Salvador from those living abroad during the first five months of the year was 16% higher than the same five month period in 2024, a very significant increase according to El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank . Remittances are already one fourth of El Salvador's economy. The dollars earned abroad, overwhelmingly in the US, have lifted families out of poverty and are one of the chief engines of any economic growth in the country. Economists interviewed in La Prensa Grafica pointed to Donald Trump's deportation policies as a main driver of the surge in remittances. Families are sending money out of the US into bank accounts in El Salvador out of fear of being deported and losing access to their assets in the US. "If we look at the behavior of deposits in the financial system, they have grown enormously. The acceleration in remittance sending has oc...