Tram ridership increases, subsidy is reduced; Work on Monay overpass progresses; Police motorcycle checks increase following recent crimes; Celebrate the water!

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 4/3) Actividades por el Día Mundial del Agua (Activities for World Water Day) – ETAPA EP presented the agenda of activities for World Water Day, celebrated every 22/3. The schedule starts el jueves, 22/3 a las 9:00 at the Sústag water treatment plant (on the vía a Soldados) with the launching of a monitoring and early alert system for water quality. On el domingo, 22/3 a las 10:00, there will be a family meeting, “Del Páramo al Quinto Río” at the Jardín Botánico de Cuenca which will be dedicated to reflection and celebration of water and life. There will be a youth dialogue “Voces jóvenes del Quinto Río,” on el jueves, 26/3 a las 10:00 in the old Escuela Central. From el viernes, 6/3 to el jueves, 26/3, there will be activities in the parishes located in the water recharge zones such as Molleturo, Chaucha, Yanuncay, Sayausí, Tarqui, Victoria del Portete, Chiquintad, and Sinincay. The schedule continues on el domingo, 31/5 a las 8:00 with the “Nos movemos por el agua 6k” race starting from the Parque El Paraíso and going through various city streets.

The ridership of Cuenca’s tranvia continues to increase, reducing the annual subsidy, but bad decisions made during construction plague the system. (El Mercurio)

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/3) Agenda –
6/3 a las 9:30 – Presentación artística – Concert by the artist <music artist> Toa – Salon de la Ciudad (Mariscal Sucre y Benigno Malo).
19:00 – Día de la Mujer – “Mujeres Inspiradoras” talk for the commemorative day – Portal Artesanal.
19:00 – Exposición – Opening of the exhibit, “Deriva en la calle Larga” – Casa Patrimonial Municipal del Artista.
7/3 de 10:00 a 17:00 – Feria de Antigüedades at El Vado, unique objects, pieces with memory and the enchantment of the classics in one place – Casa Patrimonial de la Lira.

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/3) “Carmina Burana” en escena (“Carmina Burana” on stage) – “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff will be performed by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca, the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil del Conservatorio, the Coro Infantil and the Coro Juvenil of the Conservatorio, the Coro Polifónico de la Universidad de Cuenca, and the ballet company of the Conservatorio to mark the 88th anniversary of the Conservatorio “José María Rodríguez.” The performances with about 150 artists participating will be el 6 & 7/3 a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura under the direction of invited conductor William Vergara. <This should be really spectacular.> Tickets are available at the Conservatory, Almacenes La Victoria and El Surtido. Cost: $10.00 general admission and $15:00 VIP.

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/3) Concierto de piano (Piano concert) – 3 young pianists will perform a concert el domingo, 8/3 a las 10:00 in honor of the Día Internacional de la Mujer. The recital will be in the Museo de Arte Moderno (Sucre 5-27 y Coronel Talbot). Sofía Orellana, Lucas Bueno, and Camila Poma are students of the maestro Darío Bueno Escolar, professor at the Conservatorio “José María Rodríguez.” Free. <This will be one of those shows where most of the audience will be family and friends of the performers.>

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 4/3) Policía atribuye últimas muertes en Cuenca a disputas por microtráfico (Police attribute latest deaths in Cuenca to disputes over micro trafficking) – According to Ángel Esquivel, chief of the Azuay Subzone, the recent violent deaths in Cuenca are likely related to micro drug trafficking disputes. There have been 4 violent acts reported in the last few days with the victims or those killed or injured, presumed to be involved in drug sales. Some have criminal records for drug trafficking which reinforces the hypothesis that the confrontations are over control of sales territories. The chief said that there are generally quantities of drugs circulating in the city for local consumption, but beyond the small dealers, there is a structure that supplies the drugs. <I hope that the big guys don’t bring their territorial disputes into Cuenca.>

The latest case happened during the wake for Jhon F. who was killed in the Las Orquídeas sector. While his family was attending the wake, a man entered and shot and killed his sister. Police say that the murder was part of a series of revenge actions related to drug disputes. The act was caught on a security camera and the presumed killers were identified. But the investigation has been delayed since the families of the suspects have refused to make formal identifications. Esquivel warned that these acts of violence could continue if the disputes persist, and that crimes can move from sector to sector. If there is no effect on the supply structure, the dynamics of the violence will repeat.

(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 4/3) Refuerzo de controles a motocicletas tras recientes sicariatos (Increased checks on motorcycles following recent assassinations) – The Policía Nacional announced reinforcement of controls in various points in the city after the recent killings, some of which were perpetrated by 2 people moving on a motorcycle. The police met with EMOV to coordinate joint actions. Lenin Guzmán, manager of EMOV, explained that preventive controls will be intensified in “hot zones” which have a higher number of accidents, misdemeanors, and crimes. These sectors include the Terminal Terrestre zone, Las Orquídeas, Uncovía, Miraflores, the tolerance zone, and the Chola Cuencana sector.

(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 4/3) Marzo será un mes lluvioso (March will be a rainy month) – Cuenca is entering the most rainy part of the year, which usually runs between marzo and mayo and can extend into junio. Forecasts indicate that the rainy season will strengthen in the coming weeks. The rivers are flowing at normal levels due to the rains in febrero. The same rains have caused associated events such as slides, overflows of creeks, and flash floods.

(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 4/3) Plantean regular a repartidores (Proposal to regulate delivery drivers) – Councilmember Gustavo Valencia is promoting a proposal to regulate home delivery activities. Valencia explained the goal of the initiative is to avoid this activity being carried out without supervision or minimum requirements so that anyone with a moto and a backpack is a delivery service. The drivers should be registered so their work is regulated and is part of formal organizations with defined responsibilities. This would apply to both drivers and the businesses or associations to which they belong. <Doesn’t it seem like the services are performing quite well without an extra layer of government bureaucracy?>

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/3) Paso elevado de Monay funcionará en septiembre (Monay overpass to open in September) – The overpass being built on the Cuenca bound lane of the vía Azogues-Cuenca will open in septiembre. It is part of the Monay interchange and is expected to cost over $43 million. The work was started by the contractor Ripconciv Cía.LTDA in agosto, 2025 with a 24 month construction period divided into 2 phases. The first phase is about 24% complete. Currently av. 24 de Mayo is taking traffic from the autopista to enter the city of Cuenca. <And it’s as confusing as all get out even for someone who’s been driving here for over 13 years and can read Spanish.> In other projects on the autopista, MIT is planning to start the contracting process for the Gapal and 12 de Octubre interchanges in abril.

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 5/3) Cuenca paga 1,5 millones al año para sostener el Tranvía (Cuenca pays $1.5 million a year to support the tram system) – Haydée López, manager of the Tranvía, said that the economic situation of the system has shown an improvement thanks to an increase in demand. She said that last 24/12, the highest number of riders was registered with over 42,000 in one day. That was about 15,000 more than the normal average. Currently the Tranvía moves about 27,000 passengers a day from lunes a viernes. She explained that this increase has allowed the reduction of the amount the city subsidizes the system, which in 2026, reached about $1.5 million. But since it is a public transport system, it always requires a public subsidy. If there weren’t a subsidy, fares would be about $1.00. She also reported that there is an ongoing consultation on transport reorganization which, by the end of the year, foresees a fleet of about 14 city electric buses which will serve as feeders to the Tranvía system. <So maybe the southern part of the city will be able to access the Tranvía.>

However, while the system is expecting more passengers, its financial situation continues to be marked by the arbitration rulings from the construction phase. These were legal decisions issued by arbitration tribunals to resolve conflicts between the Municipio de Cuenca and the construction contractors. Mayor Cristian Zamora said that the arbitration awards represent the largest economic hardship the city faces, and he put the responsibility on the previous 2 mayors who made contractual decisions that resulted in multi-million judgements against the city. The total amount to pay is currently $36.5 million which can increase due to interest on the 5th award. The rest of the article is about the blame game with responses from Marcelo Cabrera, Pedro Palacios, and Paúl Granda. <I think if you remember when Granda was mayor, you qualified as an old timer.>