Political tensions rise after judges narrow concession rules, forcing the government to rely on older emergency laws. A ruling that lit a fuse Ecuador’s long-simmering struggle over how much private capital can enter the electricity system burst into the open after a December 11th ruling by the Constitutional Court struck down a key clause of […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Political tensions flare after watchdog questions whether the city had legal authority to build three parish-level hospitals. A flagship promise under scrutiny One of Mayor Cristian Zamora’s most visible campaign commitments has become the center of a widening political and legal storm after Ecuador’s Comptroller General’s Office issued a preliminary audit questioning the basis for […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Despite record gastronomy awards and packed holidays, escalating violence and weak infrastructure threaten the province’s fragile recovery. A paradise under pressure For decades, Manabí has sold itself as Ecuador’s postcard coast: warm Pacific waters, long stretches of sand, fishing villages turned resort towns, and a cuisine so distinctive it has become a national symbol. From […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Investors from Ecuador and abroad drive a wave of hotels, housing and commercial projects reshaping Cuenca in 2026. A city drawing national attention Cuenca is entering 2026 with a construction pipeline that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. National builders, foreign hotel brands and local landowners are converging on Ecuador’s third-largest city with projects […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Investigators and human rights groups warn that tuberculosis, hunger and military control are fueling a lethal crisis inside Guayaquil’s Litoral Penitentiary. A death that went unnoticed Early on the morning of December 3rd, guards at Guayaquil’s sprawling Litoral Penitentiary sent out an urgent message asking for a forensic vehicle to collect a corpse. The body […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.

Amid soaring gold and copper prices, a late-2025 decree reshapes royalties, contracts, and concession rights across the sector. A new framework for a boom-time industry Ecuador’s mining sector opened 2026 with a quiet but far-reaching shift in how the country plans to manage one of its most controversial and potentially lucrative industries. On the final […] To access this post, you must purchase The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Monthly or The Cuenca Dispatch Subscription – Annual.