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After enduring a decade of economic, climatic, and political problems, between 1999 and 2006, more than 900,000 Ecuadorians left their country (INEC 2007). This process marked the beginning of a major migratory movement which has caused Spain to become a premier destination. The response to such migration has been disparate, yet both Ecuadorian and Spanish artists (as well as the Spanish press) have shown the different perspectives related to a discriminatory ideology. This article focuses on the representation of Ecuadorians in Spain in the 21st century. Despite the large production of novels related to this topic, the one that best represents it corresponds to La utopía de Madrid (2013) written by the Ecuadorian author Carlos Carrión. Using the theories of Critical Discourse Analysis developed by scholars Teun Van Dijk (1999, 2007, 2009) and Antonio Bañón Hernández (2006), the article aims to show how Ecuadorians are represented in the modern Spanish society focusing on the (mis)use of discourse to describe them. Finally, the conclusion provides an understanding of how the creation of cultural products such as the one analyzed has shaped an ideology in Spaniards' and foreigners' minds throughout the years and what needs to be addressed in order to obtain equal social status among native and minority groups.

Gender quota laws, which require political parties to include women among candidate lists, now exist at the subnational level in 15 European countries. Do they increase the inclusion of women in local legislative processes and facilitate the representation of women's interests? To make progress on these questions, we leverage data from the "most similar" Italian region of Campania, which implemented a quota law in 2010, and Calabria, which had no quota law. Using a mixed‐method approach, we pair quantitative analysis of all legislative bills proposed and passed in both regional councils from 2007 to 2017 with qualitative interviews with regional councillors. We find that Campania's gender quota law increased women's inclusion in the legislative process, but little evidence that this translated into substantive policy gains for women. Our qualitative evidence suggests that arcane legislative processes, male‐dominated leadership roles, and a masculinist culture prevent women's policy interests from being prioritized.