Queens —
Rosa Martinez used to stroll to the local money transfer office in Corona every week to send $200 to her family in Cuenca, Ecuador.
She still goes to the Delgado Travel office, but not to send money. Instead, it is she who collects a little cash from those family members in Cuenca.
“My husband used to earn $140 a day working three, four days a week as a construction worker,” said Martinez, 48. “Now he gets $80 a day and works two, maximum three days a week.”
The economic downturn has battered the nation in recent months, but it also has deeply affected countries like Ecuador, where a recently improved standard of living has devolved with less money flowing from immigrants working in the U.S.
TRANSFER POINT: Ecuadorean immigrants in Queens are sending less money home amid the economic downturn. Some have been forced to ask relatives in Ecuador to wire them cash.
