Returning migrants, assessment of first financing public policies in Ecuador

Return migration is a recent phenomenon in Ecuador. It is manifested in the early years of the current century. The return opens up several lines of research that need attention from society, academy and the state. This research analyzes the main mechanisms of public funding support that were offered in the country for returning migrants. It moves through the visions, aspirations of the emerging Ecuadorian immigration policy, the legal, constitutional and the institutional framework created to materialize the new vision of the state on human mobility. In the research process it is possible to construct a profile of the returning economic migrant: his characteristics, the conditions of his return, the potentialities and limitations that present for the enterprise. The main programs of financial support to the migrant sector are analyzed and evaluated, the results of the programs are contrasted with the expectations of Ecuadorian returnees. It is concluded that these programs are inaugural and have two major problems to be solved: continuity and coverage. The final part tries to be a contribution that based on the knowledge of the conditions of the returning people; the identification of program successes and weaknesses; it is proposed guidelines for a new financial support mechanism that could be relevant.