In early February, the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) launched the IESS App mobile app, that allows priority groups (those over 65 and under five years of age) to schedule medical appointments with their phone. The service is available for appointments in Guayaquil, Quito and Cuenca. Through the IESS App app, patients can make an […]

The Prosecutor’s Office for “Persons and Guarantees of Cuenca” opened a trial last week against the physician Juan Pablo A., for the alleged crime of manslaughter for professional malpractice.  The physician’s victim Sofía G., 8, died during tonsillectomy surgery. At the hearing of charges last Friday, Judge Carlos Guzmán ordered that Juan Pablo A. be […]

The Minister of Government, María Paula Romo, ruled out that the government is seeking the mass deportation of foreigners in the country with its requested reforms to the Human Mobility Law. What the Government is looking for, she said, is that changes be made in the regulation to permit expedited deportation proceedings, and if necessary, establish […]

During the Carnival holiday period, hotel occupancy in Cuenca reached 70 percent according to the Municipal Tourism Foundation for Cuenca (FMTC). This data was obtained after consulting several hotels and hostels in the city. Several cultural and artistic events were held both in Cuenca and in different cantons of Azuay, such as Gualaceo, Sígsig, Paute, and […]

Authorities announced this week that celebrations for Carnival left 55 people dead and 171 people injured in Ecuador, most of them in traffic accidents. During the holiday period between Saturday and Tuesday “55 people died due to different causes,” announced the director of the ECU911 Integrated Security Service, Juan Zapata. He added that 56,688 emergency […]

There’s an expression that we’ve all heard that has more meaning for me now than ever before in my life. It’s “watching from the sidelines.” I was never a person who did much of that. I was always in the mix of things and never really had an off button. Whether looking back at my […]

Gabriela Vázquez is one of the few scientists in the city. She is in charge of the water laboratory of the University of Cuenca, and among her aspirations is that more women occupy technical positions and break the gender stereotypes in the academic, scientific and professional worlds. To support Gabriela’s belief, a study conducted by […]

Latin America is the most dangerous region in the world to defend human and environmental rights. Last year the region registered 200 of the 304 murders documented globally by the NGO Front Line Defenders (FLD). According to the report “Global Analysis 2019,” released last Wednesday in Mexico City, four of the five most dangerous countries […]

The labor reform, one of the legal projects that the national government has argued needs to be implemented “urgently,” seems to have remain in limbo. There is no date set for submission of the reform to the Assembly and time may be running out. Government authorities said the labor reform would be sent to the […]

In a meeting with the Union of Indigenous Communities of Azuay, in Cuenca’s Parque Calderón, Jaime Vargas, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), reiterated that he is the second President of Ecuador. At the event, whose main theme was the development of the Peoples’ Parliament, Vargas was asked about his […]

It seems that being from Guayaquil means you’re either, more likely to apply for a Type B Visa to visit the United States, or you’re more likely to be approved for one if you are from there. The financial capital of the country had 92,715 people approved for this seemingly hard to get visa. Meanwhile, […]

The Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources announced that the Canadian Atico Mining Corporation has begun drilling for samples for a second-generation mining project—with prospects for copper, gold and silver—in the Sigchos sector of Cotopaxi. The so-called “La Plata” project has begun drilling activities to obtain information on the shape, content and quality of the underground minerals. After obtaining the necessary […]

Azuay province records the highest number of cases in Ecuador of violence against women in any field: psychological, physical, sexual and heritage, both throughout her life and in her last year. This comes from the National Survey on Family Relations and Gender Violence Against Women, whose figures show that 79.2 percent of Azuayan women over […]

An unassuming brown bird, tiny both in body and population size, hovers on the edge of extinction as much of its habitat has been cleared for agriculture and its nests are parasitized by cowbirds. In response, conservation organizations created a reserve expressly for the species’ preservation in the late 1990’s; now that reserve is being […]

The “Take Care of the Heart that Beats for You,” canine and feline sterilization campaign, was launched last week in the Azuay province. A cooperation agreement was signed between the Azuay Governorate and the “Activism, Rescue and Animal Consciousness Foundation” (ARCA), for the qualitative and quantitative sterilization of domestic pets in the province. At the […]

Civil transit agents of the Mobility Company (EMOV) where out last week looking for taxi drivers who weren’t being honest when collecting fares from their passengers. They ran a control operation in Cuenca to make sure that all taxi drivers are using the fare meter as required by law. They stopped taxis on Av. España […]

Inhabitants of the Cayambe neighborhoods have had enough. They say they are tired of the security problems they deal with because of the nine brothels located in their section of Cuenca. They’ve formed a collective called ‘Relocation of Brothels’ and they are in discussions with the city to have their neighborhood undeclared as a “tolerance […]

A census is being carried out throughout Cuenca to quantify the number of merchants in the various markets throughout the city. At the same time, the Market Management department of the municipality is notifying all the merchants who are behind on their rent that they must pay up soon. According to the Market Management group, […]

Ecuador still maintains the “objective” of “gradual” withdrawal of fuel subsidies after the end of last year’s protests, this according to Ecuador’s Minister of the Economy Richard Martínez. “Although we had to withdraw the proposal, the objective [now] is to do it gradually through a specific focus,” Martínez said during a visit to the US […]

The Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) has determined the child support requirements that will be in force in this 2020. These payments (or “pensions” are calculated based on the number of children, the income of the parent and, also, any degree of disability of the child. The new annual pension table consists of […]

One of the most important reasons expats move to Cuenca is for the availability of excellent health care at reasonable rates.  And that includes dental care. Because dental care in the U.S. is more expensive than any other developed country in the world, millions of people, especially seniors and children go without much needed dental […]

The subsidy for diesel fuel will not be targeted this year. This according to Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner who made the assertion during a radio interview in Quito on Wednesday. “I understand that, this year the decision of the president (Lenín Moreno) has been clear, diesel will not be touched,” he said. Sonnenholzner did say […]

Sometimes, when I sit down to write this column, I’ve got a whole lot of pent up thoughts that I’m just waiting to pour out onto the page. Sometimes, just one simple word is stuck in my head and that makes me build an entire column around it. Today is more of the later. I […]