The massacre in three prisons in Ecuador, which occurred on February 23rd, reflects "a high level of corruption in the prison system and the power of drug trafficking within and without," says Colonel Mario Pazmiño, former director of intelligence for the army. The...
Rains wreak havoc in Azuay and Cañar
The winter weather of these first two months of 2021 has been causing serious problems, especially in cantons such as Pucará, Santa Isabel, Girón and Cuenca, in the province of Azuay; and Azogues, from the province of Cañar. Even in the Morona Santiago province, on...
CAL rejects Defense of Dollarization bill again, economic analysts express concern
On February 8th, President Lenín Moreno sent his first version of the bill for the Defense of Dollarization to the National Assembly. This bill would reform the Organic Monetary and Financial Code (Comyf). The President asked that this initiative be treated as an...
Rates of new cases and new deaths, number of hospital admissions, number of ICU patients and rate of positivity all increase. Vaccination plan released.
Tracking the spread and outcome of the coronavirus in Ecuador: Updated for Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Last week we saw a decrease in the number of new cases and new deaths associated with the coronavirus, but we also saw hospitals struggling under the weight of hospital...
Thoughts running around my brain..
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a rambling, thoughts off the top of my head column, but there are so many little ideas wigging inside my brain that I can’t quite scratch away, that I just have to let them out. Let me start with the election here, because it...
Perez turn to his last resort: the TCE
"As long as the polls are not opened, we are facing a consummate fraud," said Yaku Pérez. The Pachakutik movement announced on Monday that it will present a subjective appeal requesting the opening and recount of 20,000 records before the Contentious Electoral...
CNE confirmed the candidates for the second Presidential electoral round
The debate between the winners, Arauz and Lasso will be on March 21st This Tuesday, March 2, 2021, through a national broadcast, the National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified the results of the first electoral round that gave the candidates Andrés Arauz (Unes) and...
Correistas appear to run a “command center” from Mexico
On Friday, February 12, Andrés Arauz, the candidate for the Presidency of the Republic for the Alliance for Hope, UNES, traveled to Mexico, where he currently resides. Mexico is not only the country where Arauz is studying for a master's degree and lives, it is also...
Guillermo Lasso celebrates passage to the second round, Perez continues legal challenge to count
Guillermo Lasso thanked his voters and celebrated Sunday’s announcement of the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which officially gave him second place in the February 7th elections. "We are going to the second round with courage and optimism," he wrote...
It’s Arauz and Lasso in the April 11 runoff, for now
As of Tuesday afternoon, it looks like Andrés Arauz, candidate of Unes, and Guillermo Lasso, of the Creo-Social Christian Party (PSC) alliance, will be competing in the Presidential runoff election on April 11th. However, there is still the objection and challenge...
Will I stay or will I go?
Friends here keep asking me what I think about the future of Ecuador, with the likelihood that Andres Arauz will win the April 11th Presidential run-off election. All I can tell them is that from what I read, Arauz will return the country to the ways of Rafael...
UPDATES 2-23-2021
Update to: Former President Gustavo Noboa, who brought dollarization to Ecuador dies in US hospital at ag 83 Published: Volume 5, Issue 19 Ecuador pays State honors to former President, Gustavo Noboa At 3:00 p.m. on February 20, 2021, the remains of President Gustavo...
New cases and deaths fall, but month-to-month increases raise concerns
Tracking the spread and outcome of the coronavirus in Ecuador: Updated for Wednesday, February24, 2021 Last week we saw an increase in new cases and deaths that likely were a result of the close association of millions of citizens across the country congregating to...
A potential ‘correísta’ advance in Ecuador worries Spanish investors
Uncertainty and caution. Spanish companies with interests in Ecuador are watching with some apprehension the possibility that 'Correísmo' will return to the presidency of Ecuador, after a period of economic openness and foreign investment and a framework of greater...
In recent interview Andrés Arauz—Ecuador’s likely next President—explains his worldview and plans for Ecuador
An interview with Andrés Arauz on his surprising journey to the verge of state power, what his ally Rafael Correa accomplished in Ecuador, and how he plans to win April’s election, rebuild his party, and deepen the Citizens’ Revolution. Last Tuesday, Ecuadorian...
Government offices operate under modified hours of operation in Cuenca
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, public institutions have varied in their schedules and forms of care. Below, is a list of public entities with high user demand and the detail of their current form of care in...
We just played three-card Monte
I’m at a loss. I thought that Ecuador’s corruption had been pretty well laid bare over the last 4 years and that much of what had been a tarnished image, had been polished to at least a dull shine. I seem to be wrong. Corruption is the only reason I can find in the...
UPDATES 02/14/2021
Update to: Galápagos Islands activate plans to prevent the entry of novel coronavirus to the archipelago Published: Volume 4, Issue 33 Four people arrested for trying to travel to Galapagos with fake COVID-19 tests Four people who intended to travel to the Galapagos...
Number of new COVID-19 deaths rises dramatically
Tracking the spread and outcome of the coronavirus in Ecuador: Updated for Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Last week we expressed our concerns that the post-election numbers would rise and that we would see more deaths in the coming weeks. Those fears have started to be...
Remigio Crespo has slowly evolved into an informal land terminal
According to the latest 2019 property registry of the Municipality of Cuenca, there are 16 businesses that offer interprovincial passenger van transport on Avenida Remigio Crespo. Some of these companies even offer transportation service between provinces in private...
Only half of Ecuador’s family businesses have a generational succession plan
During the last year, several Ecuadorian family businesses have registered important changes in their management structure. Changes that have begun to mark generational changes in these companies. Some of these transitions have been generated in the midst of the...
Former President Gustavo Noboa, who brought dollarization to Ecuador dies in US hospital at ag 83
Former President of Ecuador, Gustavo Noboa Bejerano, died Tuesday after brain surgery carried out in the United States. Noboa was at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami (United States), where he had undergone surgery on February 9 for a meningioma tumor in his brain....
ECB will may be able to cover 100% of deposits by 2026
Last week, the Legislative Administration Council (CAL) of the Assembly sent the bill for the Defense of Dollarization back to the President because it had constitutional and legal errors. The corrected version of the text will be back in the hands of the Assembly...
CNE cancels election recount and Perez says “Don’t even dream that we are going to support Lasso”
In a late session yesterday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) cancelled the vote recount that had been agreed to between the two second place finishers in the February 6th election, and CNE President Diane Atamaint. The planned recount was to have started on...
Cuenca overwhelmingly votes YES on referendum to stop new mining in water zones
The “YES” vote has triumphed in the Popular Consultation held in Cuenca, according to preliminary data from the CNE. The ban on large-scale mining activities got an 80% approval. According to the results of surveys carried out previously by the University of Cuenca,...
Yaku you say?
Like many people in Ecuador, I woke up a little surprised on Monday to find that Yaku Perez was actually leading Guillermo Lasso for the second position in Ecuador’s presidential election that took place on Sunday. Both the polls, and common sense, pointed to Lasso...
UPDATES 2/10/21
Update to: Contentious Electoral Court orders CNE to qualify Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz’s candidacy Published: Volume 5, Issue 10 Criminal proceedings against Abdalá Bucaram will proceed when vote tally is announced With most of the votes counted from the recent election,...
Number of new COVID-19 deaths falls significantly, while testing program stumbles again
Tracking the spread and outcome of the coronavirus in Ecuador: Updated for Tuesday, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 The numbers this week show signs of improvement, even though the rates of sampling and testing have fallen again. The rate of new cases is lower again for the second...
The economic plans of Andrés Arauz, Yaku Pérez and Guillermo Lasso
With Andrés Arauz waiting to find out who he will be opposing in the second round of presidential elections in April—either Yaku Pérez or Guillermo Lasso—it’s a good time to review what each candidate has presented as their economic plan to lift Ecuador out of its...
IMF is “open” to adjusting its agreement with Ecuador’s next president
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "open" to adjusting the program with Ecuador with the new president emerging from the ballot, "if the government so wishes," the director of the Western Hemisphere Department of the Fund, Alejandro Werner, said on Monday. "The...