The Panic to Leave: Economic Crisis and the "New Emigration" from Ecuador

Prior to the late 1990s, Ecuadorian international migration was directed primarily toward the United States. Of the estimated 400,000 Ecuadorians living in the United States, most are concentrated in metropolitan New York and many hail from the south–central highlands of Cañar and Azuay Provinces. In the mid– to late–1990s, Ecuador entered a political and economic crisis just as clandestine transportation to the United States became increasingly expensive and dangerous. Within two years Ecuadorian migration diversified radically and a "new emigration" formed. Many thousands of Ecuadorians from throughout the country migrated to Europe .

Hard times benefit one-way travel industry.(illegal immigration from Ecuador to Europe)

Newspapers the world over contain how-to articles about any number of subjects; fixing the roof, hiring a nanny, buying a car, etc. Of late, however, Ecuadorian papers have begun offering advice to the country's tens of thousands of would-be emigrants on how to sneak into European nations.

A recent article in Quito daily El Comercio warned emigrants trying to get into Spain while posing as tourists to bring at least $2,000 to $2,500 in cash so as not to alert immigration officials. The article also cautioned against making reservations at the cheapest hotels in town and admonished readers to bring guidebooks and vacations clothes in order to look like authentic tourists.