El proceso migratorio en el Ecuador después de la crisis económica-financiera de 1998-1999. Un análisis histórico descriptivo The immigration process in Ecuador after the economic-financial crisis of 1998-1999. A descriptive historical analysis

Abstract

In the years 1998-1999, Ecuador experienced a severe economic and financial crisis that affected most of the macroeconomic and social indicators; This process culminated in the implementation of the dollarization system as of January 9, 2000 and which left serious consequences in different areas, more specifically at the population level. One of the effects of the crisis was the massive departure of Ecuadorians, due to the loss of employment, whose purpose was to find a better standard of living in countries such as the United States, Italy and especially Spain; migratory flow that was affected by the restrictions imposed by the destination countries, as well as the consequences of the international economic crisis of 2008. The present work aims to analyze the migratory process that occurred in Ecuador and its temporal evolution before and after the crisis, general characteristics of the crisis, the main destinations of the migrants and the main effects that led to the slowdown in the flow of Ecuadorians abroad. For this, statistics from official organizations and institutions such as the Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) will be used, specifically the data from the 2001 and 2010 Population Census. Among the main findings in this research phase are the gradual reduction of the migratory flow after the crisis has been overcome, especially since 2003; The cities that contribute the greatest number of people to the migratory flow are Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca, with 45.3% of the total number of migrants who coincide with the fact that these are the most populated in the country. The deceleration of the migratory flow had as main factors the restrictions that the destination countries imposed, especially Spain, which started to require a visa for every Ecuadorian who wished to enter Spanish territory since 2003. Similarly, the consequences in the labor market left by the economic crisis of 2008 contributed to the decrease in the number of migrants.