Remittance payments, the country’s most important source of foreign income, broke the US $4-billion mark for the fourth consecutive month in June and were up 25.5% for the month in annual terms.

The $4.44 billion was received through 11.301 million transactions.

The $23.61 billion received in remittance payments in the first six months of the year also represents the highest for the first half of any year, and was up 22.4% over last year.

The average remittance received was $393.

The president has previously described those who send foreign currency home from abroad as “heroes.”

Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs, Alberto Ramos, said U.S. policy was one key driver of the rise in remittance payments, as well as factors which reflect poorly on the Mexican economy. “The drivers of remittances from the United States result from the generous fiscal transfers to support wages and incomes in that country, the competitive level of the dollar against the Mexican peso, and the deep contraction of activity and employment in Mexico,” he said.

The Bank of México predicts that remittance payments will finish the year 21.7% higher than in 2020, at a total of around $49.4 billion.

With reports from El Economista and El Sol de México

CORRECTION: The numbers for June didn’t quite add up in the previous version of this story due to rounding. In addition, the total for the month was $4.44 billion, rather than $4.43 as first reported.