71.6% of the total amount of remittances received by Ecuador in the third half of 2023 came from the United States, which shows an increase of 1.6% compared to the money sent by Ecuadorians living in the North American power in the second quarter of 2023 and an increase of 14.5% compared to the third quarter of 2022.

These figures reflect the intensification of the migration crisis affecting the country. In 2023, according to the United States Border Patrol, 107,848 Ecuadorians were apprehended at the Mexico-United States border, a record number that doubled from 2022, when the United States government detained 58,297 compatriots trying to cross into the United States.

Remittances sent to Mexico amounted to $37 million in the third quarter of 2023, but Colombia leads the list of countries receiving the most money from Ecuador: $85 million

Ecuador received a total of $1,397.6 million in remittances in the third quarter of 2023, up 3.3% or 14.5% from the second quarter of 2023 and the same period in 2022.

After the United States, the second country that sends the most remittances is Spain, with 15.82% of the total amount. Italy follows with 3.15 percent. The rest of the countries in the world share the remaining 9.42%.

Part of the increase in remittances, notes economist Guillermo Granja, is a response to a generation of Ecuadorians who little by little “found better conditions in the countries they arrived at” after an exodus to Europe and the United States following the economic crisis Ecuador suffered in 1999.

Also, he adds, this is due to the partial recovery of the American, Spanish and Italian economies after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government sent a request to take advantage of temporary protection status for Ecuadorians who are not legalized in the United States

Granja also expresses that the constant increase in remittances allows companies such as remittance companies to consolidate as an alternative to banks.

The destination of the remittance brings a worrying message

A Central Bank analysis states that 55.6% of remittances entering Ecuador from July to September 2023 were channeled through private banks. 41.3% of payments were made through remittance companies. And 3.1% through mutual associations.

“The remittance was always through the bank. Western Union, for example, has strengthened. They don’t charge when you receive a money order, but when you want to send money, they charge you every dollar,” he explains.

It can also be seen how migration is reflected in the provinces that receive the most money from abroad. Guayas, Azuay, Pichincha and Cañar accounted for 72.6% of the flow of remittances, totaling $1,014.2 million.

Azuay and Cañar are the two provinces with the largest migration processes, internal and external. This is reflected, for example, in the levels of absenteeism in the second round of the presidential election on October 15, 2023. In the canton of Déleg, Cañar, absenteeism reached 43.9%.

Five of the ten cantons across the country with the highest percentage of absentees in the last election were from Cañaro:

Of the remaining, three are from Azuay, the second province that receives the most remittances after Guayas:

The concentration of remittances in Guayas and Pichincha, in addition to responding to internal migration processes, is also a consequence of the presence of financial institutions in these provinces, according to the Central Bank.

Granja explains that it is “recommended” to continue receiving remittances because they represent money for consumption and greater economic activity. “When you don’t have it, 30 cents of a bus ticket is money. It’s better to have something than to have nothing.”

Sušćan, the canton that receives the most remittances per person, is full of new houses, but coexists with a lack of services

The main area in which remittances are used is the construction and extension of homes. Furthermore, when migrants return, they spend the money on domestic tourism. Few of those who receive, he adds, use it for savings or educational expenses.