Campaign spending limits set; Fair features foreign entrepreneurs; Traffic lights replace two redondels; Election debates scheduled; Goodbye to ‘noodles’
Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del miĆ©rcoles, 11/11) 40 emprendedores extranjeros (40 foreign entrepreneurs) – More than 40 entrepreneurs in different sectors will participate in the G&G feria to be held on el 5 & 6/12 in the parque Virgen del Milagro
next to the Ciudad de Cuenca high school. This feria will have gastronomy, organic products, artisanal food, health, real estate, and more with vendors from countries such as China, Japan, Korea and the US. Jacqueline Guerroro, director of G&G, said the objective is to connect local entrepreneurs with foreigners living in Cuenca to generate opportunities in commercial exchange using direct contact, the help of translators, and the presentation of products and services. She said foreign residents generate employment by contracting with Ecuadorian personnel. <Kind of confusing – who’s supposed to connect to who else?>
The debates for candidates for Prefect of Azuay and Mayor of Cuenca are scheduled for Nov. 20 at the Pumapungo theater. (El Mercurio)
(De El Mercurio del viernes, 13/11) Se inaugura Expo Notafilia (Expo Notafilia opens) – (notafilia – bill collectors <not the kind from your car loan company> These are people who collect paper money and documents.) <And not people like Elon Musk who’s collected the equivalent of a trillion dollar bills.> The first Expo Notafilia Cuenca 2026 opened el jueves in the coworking space of the Instituto Tecnoempresarial Wissen. The show has billetes (bills – your bonus word for the day) from different countries and epochs. The event was organized by the AsociaciĆ³n NumismĆ”tica el Azuay, and will run until sĆ”bado, 14/11 with hours from 8-13:00.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) Organizan CĆrculo de Lectura (Reading Circle organized) – The U. of Cuenca will start the first CĆrculo de Lectura aimed at people over 50 years old, an initiative that grew out of the ‘Territorios de Lectura’ project. This space seeks to promote the love for reading, encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences through books, and strengthen the building of community between the participants. The first meeting will be el martes, 17/11 from 15:00 to 17:00 in the Casa Rivera on La Condamine 12-109 across from the plaza de El Vado. The special invitee will be Nydia VĆ”zquez de FernĆ”ndez de CĆ³rdova who will talk about her book, ‘Ashanga. Cocina morlaca’ as well has her career and experience. <The book is a cookbook of local recipes. You cooks and foodies should be interested. It’s a good book. I wish I could go, I’d get my copy signed.> The event is free, but you need to pre-register online. The CĆrculo de Lectura will meet weekly from 15:00-17:00.
Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del miĆ©rcoles, 11/11) FiscalĆa y FBI sellan acuerdo (Prosecutors and the FBI reach an agreement) – Lawrence Pettroni, the chargĆ© d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador, participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the FBI and the Ecuadorian Office of the Attorney General. The agreement is the formal start of a cooperation between the two institutions. It strengthens the joint work to fight transnational criminal organizations and terrorists. After the signing, an announcement was made about the seizure of 452 kilos of cocaine in Ecuador, which was part of an investigation by the FBI in the US.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) CNE define montos para campaƱa (CNE sets campaign spending limits) – The election campaign period started el 12/11 and will end el 26/11. The Consejo Nacional Electoral has approved the spending limits for the candidates for radio, newspaper, TV, and billboard advertising. The amounts assigned depend on the number of voters. The money does not go directly to the candidates. The CNE is responsible for paying the media and outdoor advertising companies. The candidates have the freedom to select the advertising media and design the advertising material. These need to be reviewed by the CNE prior to publication or display.
For each team of candidates for the prefect and vice-prefect of Azuay, CNE will contribute $13,994.01 plus $2,099.10 IVA. With the 8 teams running, the total amount for these positions is $128,744.88. <$14K might cover the costs of running a campaign for a city council seat in the US. Who knows what mind-blowing amount a US governor’s race costs.> The amount for the Mayor of Cuenca will be $13,450.86 plus $2,017.63 for IVA. With 9 candidates, the total amount will be $139,216.41. Contributions for the mayor’s races in the other 14 cantons in Azuay range from $1,725.00 for the mayor’s race for Camilo Ponce EnrĆquez down to $431.25 for Sevilla de Oro. The CNE has set $4,035.26 plus $605.29 in IVA for the 3 city council seats in Cuenca. There are a total of 26 lists for these seats (9 for Urban district 1, 8 for Urban district 2, and 9 for the rural districts.) The contributions to the candidates for the parish GADs in Cuenca depend on the number of voters in each jurisdiction and range from $1,033.11 for BaƱos to $300.00 for Chaucha. The CNE has also established contact with platforms such as Meta to get reports about advertising paid for during the campaign.
There will be oversight before, during and after the electoral process, with the aim of verifying the information gathered against the financial reports submitted by political organizations. Social networks are a particular situation since they’re international, and don’t allow agreements similar to those for traditional media. These spaces are not regulated in the same manner and auditing is done by each campaign. Each campaign team has a chief, an accountant, and a financial manager. Candidates do not receive the funds directly. The system calls for the financial manager to select the media and the payment is transferred directly to the provider. <Sounds a lot cleaner than the campaigns in the US with PACs that bypass campaign contribution limits from individuals, and heaven knows how many other shadowy ways to give money to a candidate where the candidate knows who they owe if they win.>
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) Entrevistas a los candidatos (Interviews with the candidates) – The El Mercurio newspaper arranged a special program of interviews with the 9 candidates for Mayor of Cuenca and the 8 for the Prefect of Azuay. This will be posted in the digital platform of the paper. The interview covered the issues of safety, corruption, mining, mobility, tourist promotion, generating employment, and more. The CNE has set up a Voto Informado section in its website, www.cne.gob.ec, where voters can go to see the candidates’ work plans <analogous to campaign promises>. You can also see the candidates’ photos, their parties or movements, and political alliances that support them.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) 30 t de cables han retirado de postes de luz en 8 meses (30 metric tons of cables have been removed from utility poles in 8 months) – A total of 30 tons of unused cable has been removed from public spaces in the 8 months that Centrosur’s ‘AdiĆ³s tallarines’ (Goodbye noodles) program has been in effect. The latest removals were last martes in the UncovĆa sector along the Camino a Patamarca with officials from Centrosur and representatives from 20 cable operators. Centrosur said that the material removed was packaged and properly managed as waste. The remaining cables in use were identified with labels and organized to make orderly, safe lines. <So Cuenca won’t look like an intersection in a big Indian city any more.> Centrosur administers concessions in a 30,000 sq. km. area composed of the provinces of Azuay, CaƱar, and Morona Santiago. There are more than 320,000 posts that are part of the electrical infrastructure in this territory.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) Vacunas para las mascotas (Vaccinations for pets) – The Ministerio de Salud PĆŗblica (MSP) will give free rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats este sĆ”bado in the Centro de Convenciones del Mall del RĆo from 10:00 to 15:00. This is part of an anti-rabies vaccination campaign. Pet owners need to bring their pets at the announced hour to get the free shots. According to the OrganizaciĆ³n Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), human rabies from dogs is 100% preventable and 100% fatal once symptoms appear. <So if you get bit, and then start foaming at the mouth, you’d better get your will in order.> <There is also a pet fair el sĆ”bado from 8 am to 6 pm at the Hotel Oro Verde. Google CuencaPet.>
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 12/11) Ajustes viales caotizan (Steet adjustments cause chaos) – The work to remove a redondel and install semĆ”foros (traffic lights – your word for the day. <It’ll be a big help to your taxista when you can tell them to turn right at the semĆ”foro instead of at the light.> at the intersection of av. Pumapungo and Paseo de los CaƱaris in the Hospital Regional sector, has caused delays since the work was started about 3 weeks ago. There is a similar situation on av. de los Cerezos between OrdĆ³Ć±ez Lasso and VĆctor Manuel Albornoz where a new stoplight is being added. Berenice Cubides, Director of Movilidad de Cuenca (DGM) explained the criteria for the changes. Regarding the removal of the redondel at Pumapungo and Paseo de los CaƱaris, she said that some roads were built decades ago and don’t respond to current transit needs. This redondel stopped working well to keep traffic moving.
The new stoplight system will improve pedestrian crossing with traffic islands. <What? No more revving your engine to make pedestrians run faster and get out of your way quicker?> To install new stop lights, there are 3 parameters. The first is to comply with national regulations which considers factors such as vehicle flow, accident rates, traffic signal continuity, and pedestrian safety; requests from citizens and institutions; and technical studies done by the DGM. She said that Cuenca has about 500 intersections with stop lights, of which 190 are in the Centro HistĆ³rico. During the last 3 years, 40 intersections with stop lights have been added. Every year, 20% of the existing lights are improved or replaced or more modern systems.
(De El Mercurio del viernes, 13/11) <I hope you had a safe Friday the 13th and didn’t get stuck in the elevator or knock your coffee off the table.> Debate electoral serĆ” en Pumapungo (Election debate will be held in Pumapungo) – The debate for the candidates for Prefect of Azuay and Mayor of Cuenca, planned for this 20/11, will be in the teatro Pumapungo. The debate for the 8 candidates for Prefect will start a las 16:00, followed by the first group of Mayoral candidates at 18:00. This group will include Leonardo Morales, PaĆŗl Carrasco, Juan CristĆ³bal Lloret, Yaku PĆ©rez, and Pedro Palacios <all of whom except for Morales have served previously as either mayor or prefect> The second group will debate at 19:30 and include Diana Mera, Marcelo Cabrera, Juan Pablo Riquetti, and Juan Vega. All candidates should arrive 2 hours ahead of time and be accompanied by a maximum of 2 people. Nationally, there will be 24 mayoral debates and 21 for prefects. These will be held only in the cantons and provinces with a population of over 100,000.
