Mexico’s remittances pass $50 billion, surge during pandemic

COMACHUEN, Mexico (AP) — Comachuen is a Puerpecha Inidgenous community of about 10,000 inhabitants nestled high in the pine-clad mountains of the western state of Michoacan. The whole town survives because of the money sent home by migrants working in the United States. That money kept families fed after local woodworking sales dropped off a decade ago when pine lumber started to become scarce. The money from men who migrate to the U.S. has allowed their families to remain in Comachuen rather than moving to other parts of Mexico for work. That stability is a factor in why the Purepecha language is still heard in the streets.