By Luis Fierro Carrión(*)
Ecuador has traditionally been a land that has received immigrants, who were fleeing from military, social or ethnic conflicts.
Thus, at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of
the 20th century, Europeans and Arabs arrived, fleeing economic difficulties,
droughts and military conflicts, from countries such as Italy, Syria, Iraq,
Palestine (the latter were part of the Ottoman Empire until the First War World
- which is why they were sometimes called the "Turks").
Hitler's rise to power and World War II pushed many Jews, as
well as other Europeans, to seek refuge in South America. Later, the military
conflict in Colombia led thousands of Colombians to move to Ecuador, and
refugees also came from the military dictatorships of the Southern Cone (Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay).
All these groups were well received in Ecuador; a good
number were professionals and entrepreneurs, and they integrated into the
country without much difficulty. For example, there have already been several
presidents and mayors with Arab ancestry.
The first large-scale emigration flows started in the 1970s,
and they went mainly to the United States and Venezuela.
Later, with the financial crisis of 1999, outflows increased
to Spain, Italy, and to a lesser extent to Chile, Canada and Colombia, among
others.
By 2019, according to United Nations data, there were a
total of 1,183,685 Ecuadorians living abroad, of which 43.6% were in the United
States (516 thousand), 35.1% in Spain, and 7.2% in Italy. According to other
sources, the number would be higher. For example, according to Pew Research,
there were 738,000 people of Ecuadorian origin living in the United States,
although that number includes children and grandchildren of Ecuadorian
immigrants (427,000 people born in Ecuador). The most significant increase
occurred between 2000 and 2010 (see graph). In Spain, according to census information,
there were 430,000 Ecuadorians (although some have since acquired Spanish
nationality).
On average, Ecuadorians in the US have a higher education
level, higher income level, and lower poverty rate than the average US Latino.
However, they have a lower rate of home ownership than other Latinos.
The population of Ecuadorian origin is concentrated in the
states of New York (39%), New Jersey (18%) and Florida (11%).
With the economic, political and social crisis in Venezuela,
in recent years at least 350,000 Venezuelans have emigrated to Ecuador; on the
other hand, with the international economic crisis of 2008-09 and the current
one, a few thousand Ecuadorians who had emigrated to other countries have
returned.
A substantial contribution of emigrants to the development
of Ecuador are the remittances. Remittances received average about $ 750
million per quarter ($ 3 billion per year), although in the first quarter of
2020 they fell to $ 721 million (a fall of 2.04% compared to the first quarter
of 2019, probably due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in some European
countries). The decline in the rest of the year will likely be more pronounced.
The majority of remittances were received from the US (58.9%), followed by
Spain (24.3%) and Italy (4.92%).
But we must consider that immigrants from other countries in
Ecuador also send remittances abroad, about $ 150 million per quarter. These
also suffered a fall in the first quarter, to $ 136 million (a fall of 3.18%
compared to the first quarter of 2019).
Progress has been made in the integration of social security
systems among some countries (especially with other Latin American countries
and Spain). Those who qualify for a retirement pension in the US can receive it
in Ecuador, where the cost of living is lower. But there is the issue of the
undocumented, who normally cannot receive the benefits of the social security
systems, nor are they covered by social protection systems (such as
unemployment insurance). It should be made easier for emigrants who wish to
join the IESS in Ecuador on a voluntary basis.
More could be done to encourage the return of emigrants,
including offering them tax facilities to bring in capital, machinery and
equipment. For example, free zones could be established in which the Ecuadorian
“diaspora” could invest, with tax exemptions for a period of time. Community
development projects could also be promoted, with funds from emigrants and from
national and local government entities.
Source: DatosMacro, Expansión.
https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/emigracion/ecuador
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