Migrant women on the margins of the city of Guayaquil: managing risk and taking care of life

Abstract

In the northwest of Guayaquil, one of the most insecure cities on the continent, lies an irregular settlement inhabited by impoverished migrant families from various localities in Ecuador, as well as from Venezuela and Colombia. About six years ago, these people —mainly women and children— arrived in search of a place to live, pushed by multiple crises: economic, political, and environmental. In the midst of the violence that plagues the city, disproportionately affecting the most impoverished and marginalized, this self-identified migrant community has organized in one of the main climate change hotspots in the country, facing landslides, forest fires, and multiple vulnerabilities. Under women’s leadership, they have built a community of care that transcends borders.