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Children and Migratory Processes in Ecuador Between 1999 and 2009: From the Financial Crisis’ Trauma to the Promises of the Rule of Law

Abstract:

This article examines the subjective experience of children and adolescents as sons and daughters of people who migrated to Spain during the first neoliberal wave that hit Ecuador. We present analyzes of each moment that structures this migration process, based on testimonies from both children and adolescents in their place of birth, and from those that emigrated with their parents. During our research, conducted between 2006 and 2007, these children and adolescents had memories of family separation and reunion, the reasons why their parents left, and their destinations. Mostly born between 1992–1995 when neoliberal policies were being implemented most aggressively, these children also experienced the first actions of a progressive government cycle. The government of the time, through the Buen Vivir (Good Living) Constitution, took a special interest in migratory protection policies, seeking to safeguard the physical and social wellbeing of migrants, the second largest source of income in Ecuador between 1999 and 2009.