The closure of the roads that connect Azuay with the rest of the country hits the productive sector of Cuenca. The Chamber of Industries estimates that in the first 11 days of the stoppage there are losses of $10.0 million. The representatives of the productive...
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Lasso faces ‘cross death’ from charges brought by the correístas
On Friday night, June 25, 2022, on the 13th day of the national strike, the assembly members debated the ‘crusade death’ (or ‘cross death’), a mechanism proposed by the Unión por la Esperanza (UNES) to remove President Lasso. UNES is considered the party of...
Lasso responded to each of Conaie’s demands on Saturday in a 16-page letter
President Lasso confirmed that he sent a letter to Conaie on Saturday, June 18, 2022, with the government’s response to their demands. After eight days of strike in different sectors of the country, President Guillermo Lasso spoke on social networks on Monday and said...
Shrimp sector takes more credit to support its position as top producer
Ecuador has managed to position itself as the world's leading shrimp producer, surpassing giants in this sector, such as China and India. Ecuador's shrimp sector seeking to maintain its position as world production leader and one of the largest exporters. To achieve...
After first day of National strike, violence and threats increase
Despite the calls for dialogue and the supposed openness of all the actors, the social sectors and the government of President Guillermo Lasso continue to clash with no points of consensus in sight. The versions and visions of the first day of the national strike vary...
Survey shows Ecuador’s openness towards LGBTI population exists mostly among Generation Z
42.2% of respondents said they strongly support LGBTI people being open about their identity The last survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) that explored what Ecuadorians think about LGBTI people, and the living conditions of this...
Comptroller report outlines serious administrative problems with Tramvia contracts
The Cuenca tramway has been in operation for a year and a half without all the legal conflicts being resolved. The Municipality of Cuenca has not been able to legally receive the system nor collect two fines totaling $9.2 million. In the report approved in May 2022,...
War of words continues between Lasso and Social Christian Party
The PSC says that Lasso is the ally of Correismo. The attacks between members of the Social Christian Party and the government of Guillermo Lasso have been a constant during the first year of the current president's term. And, once again, this scenario was repeated...
A third of Ecuadorian households do not have access to basic services
The provinces with the least access to electricity, water and garbage collection are in the Amazon. The lack of services is also more prevalent in rural areas. The figures are alarming. A study by the Ecuadorian Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) reveals that...
Lasers used to find another ‘Lost City’ in the Amazon
A sprawling society with pyramids, moats, and “forest islands” thrived from 500 to 1400 A.D. in the Bolivian Amazon. The ruins of a vast ancient civilization that has remained hidden under the densely forested landscape of the Bolivian Amazon for centuries has now...
Ecuadorian vehicles can now enter other CAN countries for up to one year
More than 111 million citizens of the CAN twill be able to travel through member countries more easily. With the recent commencement of a move enacted last year, Ecuadorian tourists will now be able to circulate with their car, with an Ecuadorian license plate, in...
Masks take up to 450 years to degrade, a new danger to marine life
With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic still a distant hope, masks remain a normal addition to our daily lives. But a study from Belgium suggests that they may be doing more damage to our oceans while protecting us from the virus. Disposable face masks, one of the...
United States created a feeding frenzy for temporary work visas, both legal and illegal
Some 30 people denounced a counseling agency that offered them work visas for the United States for $20,000. The offer on social networks was tempting: “Work in the United States legally.” This is how Marco, a native of the Azuay canton of Sígsig, remembers it, who in...
Cap on purchases under 4 × 4 courier system increased to $1,600 per year
Update to: Online purchases flowing into Ecuador via 4×4 shipments Published: Volume 5, Issue 7 As of this past Monday, Ecuadorian purchases from abroad that are delivered through the ‘4×4 mechanism’ are tariff free up to $1,600 per year. This was established by the...
With lowest inflation in Latin America, cost of breakfast still went up in Ecuador
The cost of the products that make up breakfast is an indicator that shows the increase in prices of some foods in Ecuador. Although Ecuador's inflation is the second lowest in the region, after that of Bolivia, the prices of some foods such as bread, milk and eggs...
Cuenca creates more full jobs than the rest of the country
Six out of 10 people have full employment in Cuenca, the highest rate in the country. The Azuay capital also registers the highest labor income. The situation of the labor market in Cuenca stands out in the first quarter of 2022. This is evidenced by the latest...
Ecuador pays lower interest rates for most of its foreign and public debt
The financial cost of Ecuador’s foreign debt has fallen since 2019, however domestic debt obligations are becoming more onerous. The average interest rate on Ecuador's public debt stood at 3.99% in February 2022. This is the lowest indicator since 2019, when the...
Prado acknowledges that Ecuadorian shrimp has problems entering China
Update to: China says coronavirus found in Ecuador shrimp packaging; Ecuador says all exports meet international biosafety protocols Published: Volume 4, Issue 41 China's temporary suspensions of companies in the shrimp sector and the closure of the port of Shanghai...
CFN and BanEcuador will merge to create new public bank
The new entity will be the Bank for Economic Development of Ecuador BP The National Government is in the process of merging the National Financial Corporation (CFN) and BanEcuador, as approved under in the Organic Law for Economic Development and Fiscal...
Glas appears before a judge in the Guayas Court of Justice
Update to: Glas released from prison after serving only 4 years for three different felony crimes Published: Volume 6, Issue 27 On Friday, April 29th, the former Vice President of the Republic, Jorge Glas, arrived at the Court of Justice of Guayas to appear before a...
Over the last 4 years 678 police officers have been dismissed for ‘very serious’ offenses
Corruption reaches all spheres, including institutional ones. The National Police is no exception and has the task of investigating their own. In the last few weeks alone, six policemen have been protagonists of different illegal acts. On April 26, 2022, a sergeant...
Car bomb explodes in front of the Guayaquil regional prison
It happened at half past three in the morning. It is the third bombing in 2022. The terror of organized crime networks hammers insistently in Guayaquil, which has become one of the most violent cities in the world. Adding fuel to this statement, at half past three in...
Ecuador’s business climate deteriorated in the first quarter of 2022
The war in Ukraine, the lockdowns in China and the power struggle between the Government of Guillermo Lasso and the Assembly have had an impact on the business climate in Ecuador. After a spike due to expectations of a change in government, the business climate in...
$400 million in new investments in Ecuador bring 2022 total to $1.360 billion
The National Planning Secretariat reported last Thursday that the Strategic Committee for the Promotion and Attraction of Investments (Cepai) approved $400 million more in new investments. The Ministry of Production explained that 29 contracts for $407 million were...
Group pushes at-home Covid-19 testing though Minister of Health says it will hurt Ecuador’s pandemic surveillance efforts
According to the Ecuadorian Association of Distributors and Importers of Medical Products, the cost of the test would not exceed $7.00 Last January, a family of 15 members was tested for Covid-19. Five of those tests returned a positive result, ten came back negative....
SRI says revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was 29% higher than last year
SRI issued the quarterly report, which shows a significant recovery in both VAT and ICE. An increase in income from equity was also reported. SRI delivered the collection figures from January to March 2022 last week. Tax collection during that period amounted to...
Glas released from prison after serving only 4 years for three different felony crimes
Glas served 4 years of an 8-year sentence in the Latacunga prison. Glas had received sentences of 6 years, 8 years and 8 years. Jorge David Glas Espinel, former Vice President of Ecuador, left the Latacunga prison this morning, April 10, 2022, after only four years...
Cuenca’s old mansions are born again as restaurants, bars, hotels and tourist attractions
The restoration of heritage houses is booming in the Historic Center of Cuenca. Buildings from more than a century ago have become modern hotels, restaurants and terraces that are committed to the city's tourist development. Investments are in the millions and the...
As spending falls revenues increase 29% in first quarter of 2022
The rise in the price of oil, higher collection due to the tax reform and the increase in domestic sales left a fiscal surplus of $609 million in the first quarter of 2022. The Government's fiscal accounts show a positive performance due to an increase in tax and oil...
Government protests Honduras invitation to Rafael Correa
The former president was in Honduras to present the “good practices” of his administration. The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said that he is a fugitive from justice. A diplomatic note of protest was sent by the Ecuadorian government to its Honduran counterpart, who...