El impacto de la emigración y de las empresas españolas en la economía del Ecuador (1990-2014)

Resumen

This thesis is the result of arduous work concerning the presence of Spain in the Republic of Ecuador and the participation of emigrants and Spanish companies during the years 1990-2014. To understand the context with which Ecuador gravitates, we have analyzed the momentum and difficulties of the US dollar in the economy of the oil country and the positive effect it has provided in Spanish corporations. It has also been anticipated what it would mean to have a serious proposal of the usage of electronic money in the economy Ecuador. In the financial obligations chapter, the current Ecuadorian debt has been analyzed in detail and shown not to be very high with 38% of GDP in 2016. In addition, the legitimacy of the debt has been analyzed in the Final Report of the Comprehensive Audit of Ecuadorian Debt in 2006 created by the Audit Committee of Illegitimate Debt (CAIC). Also, research was done on how borrowed money has been spent and how money exchanged with Spain has been used. Programs for economic exchange have not always worked well and changes have been made in order for projects to progress. In fact, in some cases, there have been changes in the financing of the projects. This study also discusses the opportunities offered by Ecuador to foreign investment. It has been concluded that foreign investment creates employment and causes a "spillover effect" to other productive sectors. In addition, Ecuadorians prefer salaries paid by multinationals because they are higher. A problem is that some Ecuadorian and Spanish entrepreneurs will invest in Peru or Colombia since Ecuador has no legal security and is a medium-high risk country. However, international agencies often give mediocre risk classification to almost all Ibero-American countries with the exception of Chile and, to a lesser extent, Costa Rica. Seventy-six interviews of Spaniards in Ecuador have been collected until the saturation of responses has been achieved. It was found that most of them have businesses, are part of Spanish institutions or work with companies that have Spanish capital. Those interviewed responded to the same questions spontaneously and their responses help us understand Ecuador more. The Spaniards have spoken about the "black legend”, which has not been forgotten in some countries of Latin America despite globalization and the fact that it happened in the past. Citizens interviewed have been asked, among other questions, about their experience within Ecuador’s legal framework, bureaucracy, different types of companies and ethics in business. Some dared to talk about corruption by comparing the current government with other governments of the past and other countries. This emphasizes there is a problem in the Andean country with the concentration of powers. In the chapter on the Ecuadorian press, one thousand seventy-one news articles on Spain’s economy have been analyzed in three important newspapers; La Hora in Quito, El Universo in Guayaquil and El Mercurio of Cuenca. Once the information was collected, the news was categorized as positive, negative and neutral. The topics of the publications were varied but the crisis in Spain and Spanish companies in Latin America were reported the most. It was found that the economic crisis has negatively affected the image of Spain. This study has sought to offer a thorough analysis of economic, political and social relations between Ecuador and Spain, as well as examine the pros and cons for investing in Ecuador. The issue has not been easy because there are almost no articles or books on the subject. Primary sources and quantitative reports came from the Central Bank of Ecuador and international institutions. Thanks to the theoretical analysis, it has been possible to explain in detail the fiscal and monetary policies applied in the last two and a half decades.