Exits to Mexico went from 39,000 a year to exceed the 100,000 barrier after eliminating visa

That nation will require a visa again from September.

Cancun, Mexico City and the Riviera Maya are tourist attractions that travel agencies promote to Ecuadorians. The packages or tickets offered to these destinations have been in greater movement since Mexico decided to eliminate the visa for Ecuadorians in 2018.

But not all those who purchase flights to these destinations leave with the intention of sightseeing. A part buys those tickets with the premise of being able to use Mexico as a bridge to reach the United States. This is something that is discussed behind the scenes in travel agencies and is attributed to the increase in the flow of travelers to that country.

The Mexican Government alluded precisely to illegal immigration conditions that are being registered to once again require visas from Ecuadorians since September 4. The measure will be in effect until March 4, 2022. The visa to enter that country will cost $44.

In justifying this decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico indicated that "they have detected networks of criminal organizations dedicated to the illicit trafficking of people that made use of this facility" to use their territory as a transit country.

In addition, he said that he has registered a substantial increase in Ecuadorians who enter their territory for purposes other than those permitted.

“This decision will contribute to the reduction of non-admissions of Ecuadorian nationals at points of internment in Mexico by having to have the corresponding visa in advance,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.

Roberto Canseco, head of the Foreign Ministry and Political Affairs of the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, explained that Ecuadorians who have a permanent resident visa from Chile, Colombia, Peru, Canada, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and those who have a Schengen visa will not require a visa for Mexico.

The return of the visa to Mexico could stop, at least for now, the strong flow of travelers, and reduce the occupancy of regular and charter flights that leave to Mexico, agencies report. However, an agency executive considered that, if on the one hand it is an impact, those who really travel for tourism will no longer be worried and afraid of being deported.

Currently, two airlines provide direct services to Mexican destinations: Aeroméxico and Aeroregional, which offers charter departures, some with departures from Latacunga.

From January to May, the Civil Aviation Directorate of Ecuador counted 385 air operations from Quito and Latacunga to Mexico (in regular and non-regular service) of these two companies.

Occupancy on these flights is important. In fact, Aeroméxico, which resumed its flights in August of last year after the hard months of the pandemic, increased two frequencies in 2021 and went from seven to nine weekly flights.

The migratory flow recorded by the Ministry of Government of Ecuador is an x-ray of how the departure of Ecuadorians to Mexico has been growing. In 2017, 39,956 people traveled to that nation, and a year later, when visa requirements were stopped, the figure jumped to 51,754 people.

La explosión de viajeros llegó en el 2019 con 119.280. Durante el 2020, en plena pandemia del coronavirus y con la restricción de operaciones, las salidas llegaron a 54.258. De enero a julio de este año, la cifra de salidas se sitúa ya en 88.696 personas. En ese periodo entraron a Ecuador 34.331 personas, es decir, un alto porcentaje no vuelve.

Lorena Mena, ecuatoriana que dirige Continente Móvil, consultora con base en Tijuana que realiza estudios de migración, indicó que esta medida de volver a exigir visa a los ecuatorianos ya se veía venir. “En ciudades de la frontera norte mexicana, especialmente Ciudad Juárez, frontera con El Paso (Texas), hemos estado observando un flujo inusual de ecuatorianos”, afirmó.

Desde mediados de 2019, cuando los albergues se llenaron de centroamericanos (por las caravanas) buscando asilo en EE. UU., Mena señaló que también notaron presencia de ecuatorianos en esas listas, y meses después, pese a la pandemia, han seguido llegando.

La especialista mencionó que la Patrulla Fronteriza de EE. UU. en el año fiscal 2020 (que va de octubre de 2019 a septiembre de 2020) detuvo a más de 12.800 ecuatorianos intentando cruzar. Y en lo que va del año fiscal 2021, ya superan las 72.000 detenciones, números altos después de los detenidos de origen centroamericano.

Para la especialista, esta es una medida que intenta frenar estos flujos, más por presión estadounidense, por la crisis de desplazados que está ocurriendo en esta región y por las políticas de securitización que obligan a México a ser un embudo, por lo que tiene atrapados a muchos migrantes.

Ella consideró que el visado va a reducir estos números de ecuatorianos, pero no a detener del todo el uso de México como territorio de paso. “Los traficantes y coyotes tendrán otra excusa para subir la tarifa, y provocará que, al no poder entrar vía aérea, los ecuatorianos usen rutas terrestres irregulares como hacen cubanos, haitianos, venezolanos, centroamericanos y africanos. Por tanto, el riesgo aumenta”, sostuvo.