By Victoria Arguello and Jose Aguiar
CARACAS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border on Wednesday was criticized by Venezuelan analysts as “aggressive, abrupt and sectarian.”
Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to boost border security and “to build a large physical barrier on the southern border.”
In an interview with Xinhua, American affairs expert, Omar Galindez, said that Trump’s move could be counter-productive for his own country as it could lead to a rise in unemployment.
“This is a very aggressive policy by Donald Trump since many of the workers in offices, restaurants, hotels and colleges in the U.S. are not only Mexican but Spanish-speakers who have built their lives in that country,” he said.
Unemployment in the U.S. is at around 5 percent according to government data but could rapidly rise if sanctions are applied to “sanctuary cities,” which Trump has attacked as being in favor of immigrants.
For Galindez, Trump could become the president “who raises…the level of unemployment in the United States” while also forcing jobs currently being taken by illegal immigrants to be taken over by American citizens.
This would have a knock-on impact on businesses and production lines, which would lose cheap labor.
As Mexicans and Latinos are paid far below the salaries earned by local Americans, this is attractive for businesses, shops and supermarkets,” stated Galindez.
Political analyst Luis Delgado Arria said that the border wall is part of deglobalization by the United States.
Yet, he saw this as ironic, since “the presidents and economic sectors of industrialized nations are advocating globalization among…the poorest countries in the world and hyper-protectionist measures in more developed countries.”
While Trump’s inauguration speech saw him make a guarantee to bring jobs to American citizens through the return of various companies to the country, questions remain about the fate of Latinos in and outside the United States.
The analysts concluded that besides the wall, other anti-migration policies could spark a chain reaction, leading to a “wave of greater repression” by the United States on its southern neighbors.
