Major changes proposed for Cuenca’s IESS hospital; Noboa wants more private power providers; 8th ‘smart’ bus stop opens; Candidates register

Martes,1/10/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

El ‘Guagua Cine’ inicia (‘Guagua Cine’ begins) – The XIII Edición del Festival Guagua Cine started yesterday in the “Manuel J. Calle” school with the screening of films from the “Maleta Prix Jeunesse” (Maleta Youth Prize). From hoy (martes) to el viernes, the films will be shown in the Antigua Escuela Central with shows in the morning and screenings at other schools in the afternoon.

Cuenca’s Social Security (IESS) hospital.

Talleres de toquilla (Workshops on toquilla) – Straw weaving workshops will be held in the Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla hoy, el martes 1/10 and el jueves, 3/10 from 14:00 – 16:00; and el sábado, 5/10 from 9:00 – 11:00. The event is designed for all levels, including principiantes (beginners – your word for the day). Attendees will learn about the history and process of paja straw and basic weaving techniques. The workshop will be led by expert craftspeople from different Azuayan communities.

Titular –

Veeduría al IESS sugiere “cambios” (Oversight of IESS suggests “changes”) – El Observatorio Ciudadano de la Política Pública de Atención de Primer Nivel en el Sistema Nacional de Salud del Azuay (Citizen Observatory of the Public Policy of First Level Attention in the National Health System of Azuay <whew, that’s a mouthful, but then it’s a big committee>) presented its 2nd report on the oversight of the management of the “José Carrasco Arteaga.” This IESS hospital has been the subject of public attention since julio of 2024 when the wrong leg of a girl was operated on. Public attention has also been on the lack of doctors, medicines, and supplies. In addition, 5 Azuayan assembly members started an audit against Rosa Argudo who worked in the hospital for 35 years and is being investigated by the Azuay Public Prosecutor’s Office for alleged illegal enrichment and influence peddling. Several other committees such as a group of retirees and pensioners, a collective of ex-officials of IESS, a network of the families of femicide victims, and a citizens’ group for citizens’ rights are part of the oversight committee.

José María Egas, coordinator of the oversight committee, listed some proposals to come out of the committee. One is that the IESS Central Dispensary in downtown be relocated to the building where the Post Office used to be in El Centro and another is to improve the capacity of the Centro Maternal Infantil to decongest the IESS hospital. Others were to implement centros territoriales (local call centers) to make appointments and to develop an efficient system for reference and counter-referral between units to avoid unnecessary displacement of patients. Many other proposals were listed as well as getting $1 million for medical devices and another $1 million for pharmaceuticals.

Hernan Tenorio, a committee member, said that the departure of Rosa Argudo was necessary, but he questioned why she should receive indemnification from the IESS, the amount of which has not been publicized. <And here I can’t figure out what he’s saying. Something about being attentive since many things have not been done in over 20 years, and that there are shady situations because someone must have protected her for a long time at a national level.> He said it was clear that the country needs to reform the issue of unions. It shouldn’t be forever that a person could pass her whole life with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren inheriting employment positions. <Three generations of nepo babies. Sounds like a new record.>

Cuenca –

UE “Alborada” habilita punto de carga para vehículos eléctricos (UE “Alborada” enables charging point for electric vehicles) – The “Alborada” school opened the “Albo Goes Green” electric vehicle charging station with spaces for 6 vehicles. The charging station, located inside the school, is designed for skateboards, scooters, and electric bikes and motos so that students, teachers and administrators have the option of charging their vehicles while they’re at school. <I should point out that this is a private school.>

En María Auxiliadora activan la octava ‘parada inteligente’ (The eighth ‘smart stop’ is activated in María Auxiliadora) – The Cámara de Treansporte de Cuenca (CTC) and the Empresa de Movilidad (EMOV EP) inaugurated a smart bus stop on calle Vega Muñoz in María Auxiliadora. It has a video surveillance system, an screen that displays the routes, and a panic button. There is also an electronic sign listing the bus lines and times that buses will be at the stop. <I wonder how long before the stop is covered in grafitti.>

Sucesos –

Francés a prisión por portar $1.6 millones de dólares falsos (Frenchman sentenced to prison for carrying $1.6 million in counterfeit dollars) – A Frenchman was sentenced to preventive prison after being arrested in Guayaquil with over a million and half in presumed counterfeit bills with denominations from $20 to $100. He was processed for currency trafficking since he couldn’t justify the orgin of the money. He had arrived in Ecuador irregularly after passing through French Guayana, Brazil, and Peru.

Nacional –

Siete de los 16 binomios ya se han inscritos en el CNE (Seven of the 16 binomials have already registered with the CNE) – The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) reported that as of yesterday, only 7 of the 16 candidates for president and VP who were picked in the primary elections have formally registered. They belong to the ADN, Centro Democrático, CREO, Partido Socialista, Sociedad Patriótica, Unidad Popular parties and the alliance between the Revolución Ciudana and the RETO movement. Of the 584 lists internally elected in the political organizations, only 155 have have registered candidates. The deadline to register is el 2/10. <I can identify – I leave things to the last minute, too.>

Asamblea recibió proyecto sobre la crisis energética (Assembly received bill on energy crisis) – Pres. Noboa sent a bill to the National Assembly el pasado domingo to reform the Ley No Más Apagones (Nor more blackouts law). In it he is seeking more participation by the private sector for energy generation. The law, which was also his idea, limited the delivery of energy from private companies to 10 megawatts. The reform would increase this to 100 megawatts. With this measure, the Government plans to reduce the energy shutoffs which reached 10 hours in some provinces this week.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne