Population, territory and sustainable development

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In Mexico, most of the chronically poor states are in the south of the country, the worst affected
being Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas. The last three censuses, including that of 2010, show that these
states are all characterized by net out-migration (see figure VII.1). Figure VII.2 shows the relationship
between net migration from the period 2005-2010 (2010 census) and the Human Development Index
(HDI) of 2006 of the federal entities in the country. The slope of the curve is positive and in general
demonstrates that the MADs with a higher HDI tend to be pull areas, while those with a lower HDI tend
to be sending areas. The exception is the MAD with the highest HDI, which experiences the highest net
out-migration. But the reason for this is plain, since it is the Federal District and its status as a sending
region is due to the expansion of Mexico City towards the periphery, a trend typical of all major cities in
Latin America, as will be shown in chapter X of this document.
In Ecuador, the Sierra area has been typically a place of chronic poverty, although some provinces
in the remaining ecological regions (Costa and Amazonia) also suffer persistently high poverty levels. Up to
the mid-1990s, all the provinces of the Sierra were sending regions, with the exception of Pichincha, home
to the capital, Quito (see table VII.2). The 2001 census showed a change in the case of Azuay and Cañar, the
two southern Sierra provinces (Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador is located in Azuay). The 2010
census has confirmed this change, since Azuay and Cañar now benefit from positive net migration. This,
together with the strong, sustained appeal of Pichincha, 2 shows that three of the ten Sierra provinces
recorded net in-migration. 3 This diversification in migration does not alter the fact that chronically poor
provinces are equated with sending provinces, since both Azuay and Cañar have achieved significant
economic and social advances in recent years, which has lifted them out of chronic poverty. Overall, it is
clear that in Ecuador, as in Mexico, there is a complex network of migration exchanges associated with
these countries’ multipolar economic development. This pattern occurs not only in the provinces where the
three major cities are located —Quito, in Pichincha, Guayaquil, in Guayas (although the latter has lost much
of its appeal for migrants) and Cuenca, in Azuay, but also in the Amazonia provinces (notably Orellana and
Pastaza), which have already been studied in chapter V. Although the factors of attraction differ from one
province to another, it is a clear example of multipolar regional development coexisting with the persistence
of chronically poor provinces, which send population mainly towards high-growth provinces or those with
greater opportunities and resources. This analysis is corroborated by figure VII.3, since provinces with
higher net in-migration rates tend to have lower poverty rates, two exceptions being Orellana and Pastaza,
which, notwithstanding their high poverty rates (over 60%) show high net in-migration rates, owing to their
expanding demographic frontier and significant natural resource endowment.
The case of Panama differs from those of Mexico and Ecuador, not so much because a
chronically poor province equates with a sending province, which tends to be the case insofar as the
poorest areas —the comarca regions and the Darién 4 — are sending regions (see figure VII.4), but
because of the overwhelming concentration of internal migration flows towards the Province of Panama
(see table VII.3), which is also the MAD with the highest HDI (see figure VII.4).
2
3
4
Pichincha’s appeal is not due to the exodus from most of the Sierra provinces, since the most recent census,
which covers migration during the 2005-2010 period, also reveals a net positive balance in the exchange with
most of the Costa provinces. Indeed, the second highest balance goes to Manabi, a province in the Costa region,
which has had high rates of out-migration for ages.
The new province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas is not considered a Sierra province because it is located
essentially west of the Andes. This province, officially established in November 2007, also has a positive inmigration
balance, as a result of the pull exerted by its capital, Santo Domingo de los Colorados.
Comarcas are indigenous territories and the Darién zone is practically uninhabitable owing to the humidity and
the exuberant and almost impenetrable jungle. Its basically rural and indigenous character is associated with
poverty and may be partly due to the characteristics of the measurement used, which is not always relevant in the
case of indigenous populations.