Money transfer centers in the Mexican state of Puebla are close to shutting down because the level of money transfers from the United States between August and October dropped 80 percent compared with the same period in 2007.

A report by the State Migrant Commission in Puebla states that the financial crisis in the United States has hit the economy of Puebla hard, especially families who survive thanks to the dollars sent by their relatives in the United Sates. The report noted that there was a 30 percent drop in money transfers at a state level during the month of September.

Catalina Rios Vergara, director of the Casa Chiautla de Tapia Envíos, a money transfer business, said that at the beginning of 2007, immigrants in the United States were sending and average of between $500 and $1,000 every two weeks, but now families are receiving an average of $200, although there are some who are not receiving any money, as their relatives have lost their jobs in the United States.

Rios Vergara said that the current situation has not been seen in the past 12 years, and there is hope that during the holidays, transfers will arrive in greater quantities. If this does not occur, most money transfer centers will have to close for lack of funds.

“We are hoping for a 20 percent recovery by the end of the year. We have to think hard about whether we want to continue or not. There are four people who work here, it is a family business, and that is why we need to sit down and talk about our future,” said Rios.

Finally, Rios Vergara holds banks and credit institutions responsible for wanting to monopolize the market. “Four years ago they were not even paying attention to immigrants, and now they cancel our accounts and block us,” she concluded.