Update to: In a surprise shift in the Quito mayoral saga, Yunda is returned to office by the Provincial Court of Pichincha
Published: Volume 5, Issue 43

Three months after the removal of Mayor Jorge Yunda, his position remains in dispute

A ruling from the Provincial Court keeps Yunda in his office until the Constitutional Court resolves the power struggle

In the early morning of June 3, 2021, the Metropolitan Council approved the removal of the Mayor of Quito, Jorge Yunda. With fourteen votes in favor, six abstentions and one vote against, the complaint filed by Carolina Moreno and Jéssica Jaramillo, and representatives of the group Frente de Profesionales por la Dignidad de Quito, was accepted.

From there, a series of legal appeals and judicial appeals keep Yunda in charge of the Municipality of Quito, (except from July 19 to 30, when Santiago Guarderas took office). However, the Metropolitan Council has become the scene of accusations, attacks and fights.

The political groups are divided, despite this, and in recent sessions have already managed to give way to resolutions in favor of the city. The last one, for example, which approved ordinances for the regularization of two lands and a project to declare Quito as the city of viewpoints and stairways.

For the councilor Luz Elena Coloma (CREO) the Council is “uselessly divided by Yunda and by the political calculation of some councilors.”

According to the mayor, the groups are clearly divided between support for the mayor and against, except for a few who “don’t care about the authority that runs the city.”

Paulina Izurieta (ID-VIVE) maintains that both the Municipality of Quito and the Metropolitan Council have suffered a unique instability due to the political sphere. “We have worn down the city of Quito with confrontations to the detriment of the image of authority of the Council,” she confessed.

The Councilor Analía Ledesma (ID) mentioned that the Municipality is in “total abandonment” due to the conflict between Santiago Guarderas and Jorge Yunda. She also noted that several ordinances are stuck and have not been raised on the agenda for the sessions.
Among them, she named one of the code of ethics for the Municipality of Quito, and another for the supervision of high municipal officials.

Councilor Mónica Sandoval (RC) ruled that a “hand in hand with justice keeps the Municipality of Quito in the worst institutional crisis.” She also emphasized that the council has been part of a “national embarrassment” due to the raids carried out on September 2nd that link the close surroundings of Mayor Jorge Yunda.

For Fernando Morales (Concertación) there are stagnant works such as the Quito Metro. The mayor also criticized alleged accelerated actions to pay contracts from the Mobility and Public Works (Epmmop) and Agua de Quito (Epmaps) companies.

Councilor Juan Carlos Fiallo (RC) is emphatic in the “institutional paralysis” that the Municipality of Quito is going through. “There are technical officials who do not want to sign documents or do not give way to procedures for fear that it will be resolved that what was done at this time is not valid, they have that fear in the companies and municipal secretariats,” he said.

Processes to settle the dispute

The Constitutional Court convened a hearing for September 13th that will resolve the extraordinary protection action denounced by Santiago Guarderas.

This complaint is against the ruling of the Provincial Court of Pichincha that on July 30th ratified a protection action in favor of Jorge Yunda and annulled the process of his removal.

On September 9th, there will be a hearing in the Electoral Contentious Court (TCE) before the complaint of Jéssica Jaramillo and Sara Serrano, who accuse Jorge Yunda of an alleged very serious electoral violation.

Several councilors reported that they are waiting for the pronouncement of the entities (electoral and constitutional) to resolve the struggle for the Mayor of Quito and take a course with the urgent tasks of the city.

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Update to: Ecuadorian illegal migration to US thru Mexico explodes, new requirements put in place
Published: Volume 5, Issue 45

Hundreds of Ecuadorians are being held in airports in Mexico

Hundreds of Ecuadorians remain detained in airports in Mexico, such as Monterrey and Cancun. They entered en masse in the last week because, since last Saturday, September 4, 2021, citizens of Ecuador who wish to enter Mexico must have a visa.

Felipe N., 37, a native of the Sígsig canton, is one of the Ecuadorians who remains in detention. He traveled as a tourist, but he has spent four days in a lounge at the Cancun air terminal.

He said that he is with about 100 compatriots, including children and the elderly. They sleep on the floor, and they are only allowed to go to the bathroom at certain times. They are also not allowed to use their cell phones.

“What they tell us is that they have not been able to prove that we are tourists and that the safest thing is that we try to cross the border to the United States (USA), which is illegal …”, he said.

Something similar happened to Silvia J., 40, a native of the El Valle parish in Cuenca. She also landed in Mexico, at the Monterrey airport, as a tourist.

“When we got off the plane and passed a first control, some were allowed to pass and others made us stay because they said we cannot justify that we are tourists …”, she said.

She added that they are in a room of about five square meters and there are dozens of people on the floor, even with children. They are not allowed to go out to get food. By September 2nd, she had served her eighth day in detention.

“They told us that we should wait because they are going to take us out little by little to get on planes so that we can go back to Ecuador. They say that they are definitely going to deport us…” she said.

Estela Bueno, a native of the Gualaceo canton, said her husband Marlon Figueroa, 42, is a detainee in Mexico. He arrived last week on a flight to the Tampico airport.

“He made a call to me on Monday to say that he was detained because they told him he was not a tourist but a migrant who was going to the US. He said that other Ecuadorians were also detained …”

As of last Thursday, the authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (MREMH) did not officially pronounce on these cases.

How do Ecuadorians obtain a Mexican visa now?
To obtain this document, those interested must go to the Mexican Embassy, in Quito, and present a document that proves that they are traveling as a tourist.

According to Sonia Larrea, a lawyer and advisor for the visa process, those who request a visa must demonstrate that they have roots and financial solvency.

“When we say roots, we refer to properties, that is, real estate. You must prove to the embassy that you have been an owner for more than two years, and that you have a stable job or a business … “, she said.

Those who want to request a visa must first make an appointment on the website: embamex.sre.gob.mx/ecuador/ where all the requirements that must be met are found.

This Youtube link: https://youtu.be/mq8S463SU6Q , provides a step-by-step explanation of how to obtain an appointment and the requirements that you have to submit.

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Update to: Latin American airlines seek the best way to move forward post pandemic
Published: Volume 4, Issue 40

The new Avianca route between Guayaquil and New York will start with six weekly flights

Avianca will start competing on the Guayaquil-New York route as of December 1, 2021, as part of its international flight expansion plan.

The airline announced this Monday that it will operate that route with six weekly flights to strengthen international connectivity.

The company will have departures from Guayaquil, at 4:45 p.m., on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. While from the New York it will take off at 01:00, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

With this new route, Avianca enters the market with JetBlue and Eastern, which have direct flights to that city. Latam Ecuador has not yet reactivated that route.

Avianca will start with an introductory rate starting at $295 each way, tax included.

“Flying directly to the United States is something that Ecuadorian customers have been asking us for some time,” said David Alemán, Avianca’s general director for Central and South America.

The request for this new route to New York was submitted weeks ago to the Ecuadorian Aviation Council. For this new service, Avianca Ecuador has informed the Council that it intends to use A318, A319, A320, A321 and A330 aircraft.

This is the first of seven new direct routes from Ecuador that Avianca will inaugurate in the coming months. Now, the airline has 23 weekly frequencies from Quito and Guayaquil to Bogotá and San Salvador.

María Beatriz González, commercial manager of Avianca in Ecuador, indicated that the sale of tickets is already available on avianca.com, the MyAvianca application, points of sale nationwide and travel agencies.

Currently, Avianca operates 56 weekly flights between Quito, Guayaquil, Manta, San Cristóbal and Baltra with an on-time-percentage (OTP) of 96%.

As of October 4th, the Quito-Cuenca route will begin operating with 6 weekly frequencies and will resume flights to El Coca as of January 3, 2022 with 5 weekly flights.