Michael is on vacation this week, but he left you this classic column from 3 years ago. Enjoy!  ********** Wow, I saw a draft of this week’s edition of The Cuenca Dispatch, and it seems like it could be called the “Annual Crime Edition.” But I guess as stuff happens, it has to be written. […]

Gradual adjustments avoid social unrest while shifting costs toward consumers and reducing fiscal pressure. Billions in savings through gradual cuts In less than two years in office, President Daniel Noboa has managed to chip away at one of Ecuador’s largest and most politically sensitive expenses: fuel subsidies. According to Finance Ministry estimates, measures adopted since […]

Mounting tensions over Venezuela, leadership, and local authority disconnect raise doubts about Ecuador’s main opposition force. A Movement at a Crossroads Ecuador’s Citizens’ Revolution, long the country’s most powerful opposition force, is facing an internal rupture that could determine its survival. While Daniel Noboa’s administration has inflicted significant political and judicial setbacks, insiders argue that […]

Ecuador’s iconic volcano shows signs of renewed activity as scientists intensify monitoring and communities prepare. Earthquake rekindles fears Cotopaxi, Ecuador’s most closely watched volcano, has once again captured national attention. The renewed concern follows a magnitude 4.8 earthquake on August 16, 2025, that shook the surrounding region and unleashed more than 140 aftershocks near the […]

End of bilateral statute raises uncertainty for Venezuelans in Ecuador while Peru imposes tougher citizenship rules. Assembly advances repeal of binational agreement The Ecuadorian National Assembly is moving forward with the annulment of the Ecuador-Venezuela Migration Statute, a framework that has regulated mobility between the two nations for the past 15 years. On August 15, […]

Deadly attacks occur nearly twice a week, leaving more than 300 dead in just seven months of 2025. A country under siege Ecuador has become the scene of an unrelenting wave of massacres that show no signs of slowing. So far in 2025, at least 60 mass killings have been recorded, claiming the lives of […]