🇲🇽💵 Strong Peso Make Fo’ Real Kine Worry fo’ Da Mexicans in da U.S.

⬇️ Pidgin | ⬇️ ⬇️ English

Eh, brah, you know how da Mexicans living in da U.S. send money back home? Well, dey get one big pilikia going on, da peso getting too strong! No joke, dis mean da cash dey send no go as far as b’fore. 😧

Check dis out, da guy Antonio Solis, he working his okole off delivering grinds on his bike in da Big Apple 🗽. He make like $3,500 every month, and he used to send $1,500 back to Monterrey, Mexico. All da kala go fo’ pay da mortgage, his daughter’s college, da groceries – all da ‘ohana needs.

But now, da buggah gotta send ova $2,000 fo’ da same kine bills, an’ he working mo’ long days fo’ make ‘um. Eh, no can, brah! 🏍️💰

So why dis happening? Da Mexican peso wen jump up like one fleek rooster 🐓, all high and mighty ova da last year. Now, every dollar Mr. Solis send, it no stretch like b’fore. Dis ain’t only him, plenty o’ Mexicans all ova da place get da same struggle. Dey all help put billions into Mexico, an’ da ‘ohana back home counting on dat money.

Mexico, dey number two in da world fo’ get remittances, right aftah India 🇮🇳. In 2022, da braddahs and sistahs working abroad wen send mo’ than $61 billion back home. Most go fo’ kaukau and clothes, and den health care. All dis info from da Wilson Center up in Washington. 🏥👗

Now, da peso value wen climb 20 percent against da dollar since last fall. Now da strongest in ’bout seven years, like one Hawaiian warrior, yeah? 💪 One dollar now equal to 16.7 pesos, down from 20 when Mr. Solis first wen come U.S. in 2019. So, even though remittances wen go up, da spending power wen drop like 7 percent. 📉

Currencies no usually jump like dat. Had choke reasons fo’ da peso get all hot and spicy. Had da interest rates, da boom in U.S. companies moving to Mexico, all kine stuff. 🌶️💥

All ova da world, countries trying to control inflation. Mexico’s central bank wen act quick, raising interest rates fasta than da U.S. Federal Reserve. Now da Mexican bank’s rate is 11.25 percent, an’ da U.S. one is only 5.25 to 5.5 percent. 🏦

And den get trade policy. U.S. no more aloha wit’ China, so companies moving to Mexico. Dis year, Mexico wen pass China as da top trading partner fo’ da U.S. Investment wen go up almost 50 percent, and da currency wen get mo’ strong. 💼📈

Peso also coming back from one low time. Wen lose value in 2015 ’cause of Trump talking stink ’bout da North American Free Trade Agreement. Den wen drop again in 2020 ’cause of da coronavirus. When da exchange rate was 25 for one dollar, Mr. Solis had hard time making ends meet. 🦠💸

Now da peso strong again, but dat mean less kala fo’ da same kine needs. People no going invest, dey going wait till things cheaper. Maybe no more money fo’ luau or weddings, just da basics. 🎉💔

Dis strong peso can even hurt da Mexican exports. Goods going be mo’ expensive, less competitive. But some people saying, “Eh, no big deal.” Like da U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and near-shoring keep da Mexican goods in da game. 🚗🌽

But fo’ Mr. Solis and da rest, one dollar with less buying power make da difference between grinds on da table or not. And da fast inflation in da U.S. make da challenge even mo’ tough. “It’s complicated ’cause your ‘ohana gotta eat,” he say. “If go up any more, would be catastrophic.” 🍽️😰

So, da moral of da story, brah? Money no go as far, an’ da hard-working braddahs and sistahs feeling da squeeze. Pray fo’ da best, but dis strong peso, it’s making waves, an’ da Mexicans in da U.S. dey riding one gnarly surf 🌊🏄‍♂️.

---

NOW IN ENGLISH

🇺🇸 Strong Peso 💰 Makes Trouble for Mexicans 🇲🇽 in the U.S.

Mexicans living in the United States 🇺🇸 are facing a new kine headache: Da strong peso 💰 cutting into how far the money 💵 they send back home can stretch. Let’s dig into da situation and what it means for plenty families 🏠.

Antonio Solis, one food delivery 🛵 guy in New York City, makes around $3,500 every month. He usually sends about $1,500 of dat back to Monterrey, Mexico 🇲🇽 for take care his family’s mortgage, his daughter’s college 🎓, and daily expenses like groceries 🍎🍞.

But covering those costs is getting real hard. Since spring, he gotta send over $2,000 to cover da same stuff, something he’s doing by working longer days 🌞.

Da troublemaker is one sharp appreciation of da Mexican peso 💲 over da past year, thanks to high interest rates and foreign investments in Mexico 🏦. Now, every dollar Mr. Solis sends home no go as far. And plenty other Mexicans 🇲🇽 abroad get da same problem, contributing to da billions of U.S. dollars that flow into Mexico each year — money dat families rely on.

Mexico is da second-biggest receiver of remittances behind India 🇮🇳. In 2022, those working abroad, mostly in the U.S. 🇺🇸, sent over $61 billion back to Mexico 🇲🇽. Most of da money go to food 🍲 and clothes 👕, then health care 🚑, according to da Wilson Center in Washington.

Mexicans 🇲🇽 are real sensitive to big swings in currency 💱 like dis one. Da value of da peso 💰 went up about 20 percent against da dollar since last fall, and now is da strongest in about seven years. A dollar currently exchanges for about 16.7 pesos, down from around 20 when Mr. Solis first came to da U.S. 🇺🇸 in 2019.

Da spending power 💪 of da money declined more than 7 percent when adjusted for da peso’s surge and inflation 😲, says one report from Grupo Financiero BASE, one Mexican financial services firm.

Plenty factors coincided for bring da peso 💰 up to its current strength, including rising interest rates 📈 and U.S. companies 🏢 moving operations to Mexico.

Now dat da peso is stronger, analysts expect dat remittances gonna moderate. Though workers gotta send more dollars 💵 for da same essential stuff, they probably gonna hold back on leisure spending 🎉 or investments 📊 until their dollars can stretch more.

One stronger peso 💲 might make trouble for Mexican exports 📦, but some experts no think it’s one big problem for exports yet. Da United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 🌎 and near-shoring still keep Mexican goods competitive.

For people like Mr. Solis, though, one dollar with less purchasing power make da difference between putting food on da table 🍽️ or not. Inflation in da United States 📈 is making it even more hard for cover da costs. “It’s complicated because your family gotta eat,” he said. “If it goes up any more, it would be catastrophic 😱.”

Da big picture is dat da strengthening peso is making waves 🌊, and Mexicans in da U.S. 🇺🇸 grappling with dis financial turbulence. Da money 💵 just no go as far, and da hard-working people feeling da pinch as they try to support their families back home 🏠.