The Ministry of Tourism and the Prefecture of Azuay have created a plan and approved the budget to enhance and improve five tourist spots in the province. Four of these spaces are expected to be completed by the end of this year. These five zones are all located in rural areas. “Our main goal is […]

This week the city inaugurated a new Property Registry building, located in the south of Cuenca. The property, located on Avenida Doce de Octubre and Isabela Católica, has eight floors with an area of ​​almost 5,000 square meters of construction. Two subfloors have parking for 34 vehicles. Pedro Palacios, the Mayor of Cuenca, reported that […]

The city of Manta is starting to complete the formalities to make itself one of the main tourism venues of Ecuador, alongside Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. But, Manta is going to promote itself as a center for international business.  The president of the Chamber of Tourism of Manabi, Esteban Fiallos, states that Manta already meet […]

The Bank of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (BIESS), is setting aside $900 million to be used for mortgage loans of up to $130,000. The Government of Ecuador is guaranteeing the loans for up to 100 percent of the appraised value of the property. This new mortgage commitment was reported by President Lenín Moreno, at […]

A picture from Ola Bini’s phone was leaked to a local journalist, who published an opinion piece with this photo in it. The picture showed an alleged attempt by a user called ‘OlaBini,’ requesting access to one of the National Telecomm Corporation (CNT) servers. Now that information may be used against Bini unless his lawyers […]

On August 17th, teams of students from numerous schools competed in a “knockout round” in Guayaquil to gain three spots to go to this year’s International Final of the World Robot Olympiad in Hungary. This year’s Ecuador event, held at Universidad Catolica de Guayaquil, boasted the largest attendance ever in the country. The robots in […]

Clinica Guayaquil is the first clinic in Ecuador to receive a permit to transport human organs by air. This permit will only apply to human organs, which the clinic will be allowed to transport to any Ecuadorian province. The institution that provides this permit is the General Civil Aviation Directorate (DGAC). The company in charge […]

Now that Codie and I are living in Yunguilla, we like to think of ourselves as living a remote lifestyle with little need for the conveniences of the modern world. We are starting to grow our own vegetables (our tomatoes are amazing) and now get free farm fresh eggs from one of our neighbors. The […]

The Ministry of Production, Foreign Commerce, Investments and Fishing (MPCEIP), has sent the National Assembly the new Organic Law Project for Fishing and Aquaculture. It has been 45 years since the last time the fishing sector was provided a new regulation. The new regulation will rule over sectors that weren’t included before; marine farming, inland […]

All property owners that rent housing or even rooms to tourists must now be registered and acquire the ‘Unique Annual Functioning License’ to continue to exercise this business. The Ministry of Tourism (Mintur) has already drafted the ‘Accommodation Regulation for Properties with Tourism Purposes,’ that will rule over these types of rental contracts. Once the […]

On Wednesday, August 7, Gustavo Ruiz, President of the Chamber of Small and Medium Companies of Pichincha (Capeipi), announced that the private sector is working on building the first South American plastic treatment plant to turn plastic into fuel. The project is called Plastikgas. The plastic industry provides around 140,000 jobs, directly and indirectly in […]

If you’re living a situation where you’re being attacked at home or work, or if you are witness to these kinds of situations, there are multiple public and private institutions you can go to for help. However, take into account that when encountering one of these situations first-hand, you should quickly ask for help from […]

This past Tuesday, the National Assembly (Parliament) of Ecuador voted against censoring former Health Minister Verónica Espinosa, who was accused of alleged irregularities, such as the acquisition of a dubious test for the early diagnosis of the HIV virus. The motion of censure, according to the Ecuadorian legislative regulation, had to have 91 votes to be […]

Vehicle traffic in Cuenca, with about 150,000 vehicles registered in 2018, is the main source of pollution in the city; however, the air in 2018 was 10 percent less polluted than in 2017. Claudia Espinoza, a technician of the Mobility Monitoring Network (EMOV), said that one of the strategies that has helped to improve air quality […]

This past Monday, the National Police reported through the governor of Azuay, Xavier Martínez, that they are recruiting for 2,000 new police officers in the country (200 for the Superior Police School and 1,800 for training centers). Applicants can register through the National Police recruitment platform until August 23, 2019. The training process will take eight […]

After six years of being kept under cover, the financial analyzes and investigations into the Coopera case are declassified and they open a door to the investigations of the people implicated in the fraud. Three people will go on the list of the country’s most wanted, and two former officials will be investigated for the plot […]

Carlos Repetto and Silvio Duran, Presidents of the National Federation of Construction Chambers and of the Chamber of the Construction Industry, both agree that the reduction in public works has highly affected the sector during the first part of this year. Public investment has dropped to $2.4 billion, which is the lowest in 10 years. […]

On August 8th of this year, the Colombian Agrarian Institute (ICA) announced that they had confirmed the ‘Fusarium Wilt Race 4’ in 175 hectares of a banana plantation, in the La Guajira area. This disease has proven historically to be the most destructive to banana plantations and it’s among the top 10 most devastating plagues […]

Around nine years ago, the first Pastaza plantations turned into tourism service businesses. At the time, most properties were dedicated to cattle farming and vegetable farming, but they have since opted to change their business models. It all comes down to the difference in income that land owners can get from their investments. Take for […]

Cuenca will be the third venue in a series of workshops for Colombian and Venezuelan immigrants—and local Ecuadorians—to come together to create a joint cinematographic project. The organization Aldhea is putting this program together with the help of The UN Refuge Agency (UNHCR). These workshops have already occurred in Southern Quito and Guayaquil and will […]

The Cantonal Council of Cuenca is holding its second and definitive debate on the new Municipal Ordinance for the Protection of Rights of Handicapped People. This ordinance is being promoted by the Councilwoman Paola Flores. With this new ordinance, any construction that does not have an access that guarantee the safety of handicapped people can […]

On August 10th, two missing foreign hikers were located and rescued in the Cajas National Park, as reported by the Fire Department of Cuenca, through their Twitter account. The Park Ranger Department and ETAPA personnel also aided in locating the hikers. The hikers were a thirty-five-year-old man and a thirty-year-old woman who got lost in […]

At last count, there are around 176 institutions with volunteer programs in Cuenca. The programs are primarily for young volunteers and most of them are creating activities for vulnerable people in society. These can be children, teenagers or elderly in a vulnerable situation. One example of these groups is Rafalex, an organization that works with […]

In the midst of ‘Breastfeeding Week’, back in early August, the Zonal 6 Coordination of the Health Ministry made an ‘open house’ for breast milk donations at their premises to help promote the breastfeeding bank in the Vicente Corral Moscoso Hospital. The Hospital’s breastfeeding bank just marked its 10th anniversary. Each year it benefits close […]

This past week saw more gun violence in the US, with horrendous mass shootings in Texas and Ohio. Right now, it’s easy to blame President Trump for this; his continual use of rhetoric and what many of us consider hateful and racist speech certainly has some impact on what happens day to day in that […]

Speeding was the third most responsible cause of traffic accidents in Cuenca last year. This motivated the Mobility Company (EMOV) to place seven radar photosensors in four sectors of the city. Now, there are two photo radar units on Avenida de las Américas, near Hospital del Río, where the maximum speed allowed is 70 kilometers per […]

Earlier this year, the Ecuadorian government stated its intent to issue a new type of Passport and ID card, with stronger biometric and electronic security standards. This is a necessary step in the effort to allow Ecuadorians to travel to Europe without the need to for a Visa. As of now, 15 member countries of […]

There are currently 2,468 dialysis patients in the records of the Jose Carrasco Arteaga IESS Hospital in Cuenca. The head physicians of the Nephrology area of the hospital are worried about that number because most people come to seek attention for this kidney disease very late in the game. According to the experts, there are […]