ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF VENEZUELAN MIGRATION TO ECUADOR

The current Venezuelan context characterized by economic and social instability, lack of medicine and food, and terrible living conditions generated by poor political practices, have led to a massive wave of migration of the Venezuelan population to neighbouring countries that apparently promise a better standard of living for Venezuelan migrants. Due to these conditions in the last three years, migration has affected South American countries. Ecuador has become one of the most popular destinations for migrants, not just to establish permanently but as a connection to other countries in the south, such as Chile, Peru, and Argentina. Ecuador has received hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan citizens, although the migration crisis has exceeded the capabilities of countries where migrants arrive. The article takes an attempt to outline complex issues of the abovementioned process not only in relation to the security of Ecuador, but to the stability of the whole sub-region of South America.