Moral articulations of economic life in returns to Ecuador and Cuba

Background Migration from Cuba and Ecuador to Spain and other European countries surged in the late 1990s and 2000s, largely driven by economic hardships in the migrants’ home countries. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, some migrants chose to return. This article examines how these returnees navigate moral and economic expectations upon going back ‘home’. Methods The study draws on seven months of ethnographic fieldwork with Ecuadorian returnees (2018–2022) and five months of ethnographic research among Cuban returnees (2018–2022), supported by over a decade of related investigations in both countries. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and informal conversations were conducted to capture experiences of return and local residents’ assessment of the returnees’ migratory trajectories and their value. Results Returnees faced intense scrutiny from family and community members regarding their economic activities and relations, with many expecting tangible signs of ‘success’. In response, returnees sought to highlight new skills, business ideas, or personal growth derived from their time abroad. While disappointment and mistrust were common—due to business failures, financial setbacks, and unmet expectations—returnees also developed strategies to legitimize their choices and prefigure ‘better futures’, revealing competing moral assessments of what counts as ‘failure’ and ‘success’. Conclusions The preeminence of moral controversies and judgments surrounding the economic lives of returnees, reveals how broader power relations and institutional discourses shape grassroots criteria to adjudicate ‘success’ in relation to migration. Analyzing how returnees attempt to reconcile—or redefine—the ‘economic’ as part of a ‘good life’ offers new insights into migration’s transformative effects on individual and social evaluations of value and worth.