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Could Ecuador's new electronic money system be a bust? Its critics say the first three days of its operation indicate just that. Although more than 200 businesses are enrolled in Ecuador’s new electronic money exchange system, the few that have implemented it say that...
In an “anti-imperialist” rally on Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro came out swinging against the United States. At one point wielding a sword, Maduro announced that some U.S. diplomats will have to hit the road, while tourists from the North American...
President Rafael Correa is the second most popular president or prime minister in the world, according to the International Political Communication Association. The Madrid-based group says Russia’s Vladimir Putin ranks first with public support of 87% among Russians...
Claiming that the number of U.S., Canadian and British foreign residents living in Cuenca exceeds 5,000, Ecuador’s foreign ministry says that some regulation of the influx may be necessary to mitigate the economic impact on the local population. The ministry says that...
Mayors and prefects from several cities and provinces, alongside representatives of multiple political parties and social organizations, gathered in Cuenca on Monday to form a new political front against the government of President Rafael Correa. One year after...
By Everett Rosenfeld In 2000, Ecuador moved to ditch its stumbling currency for the U.S. dollar. Now more than 15 years later, the South American country is revamping its monetary system again, this time adopting the use of digital currency. Ecuador's Sistema de...
The English-speaking residents of Cuenca have a magazine devoted to spreading the good news. The publisher of Zero: Living with Attitude, Sara Coppler, says that the publication will focus on “the positive” and be a vehicle for bringing the expat and local communities...
The United States and most Latin American nations voiced concerns over political tensions in Venezuela after the socialist government arrested the opposition mayor of Caracas in an alleged coup plot. Almost exactly one year after opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez was...
Cuenca’s International Art Bienal is reviewing its mission and says it needs to do a better job of engaging the public. Many local artists criticized the 2014 event for its focus on installation art and pointed to poor attendance as a reason to make changes. Cristóbal...
Editor’s note: To save time on their 90-day T3 passport visa stamps so they could monitor construction progress on their Cuenca condo, Chiyemi and Terry Doyle were recently forced into temporary exile from Ecuador. They cooled their heels in Peru and Colombia until...
The National Electoral Council (CNE) has again denied opponents of a constitutional amendment allowing indefinite reelection of public officials. If the amendment goes into effect, it is widely believed that President Rafael Correa will seek another term office. The...
The Facebook page Crudo Ecuador (Raw Ecuador), dedicated to political satire and one of the main reasons why president Rafael Correa initiated a social-media battle in the country, announced on Thursday that it is shutting down, including the associated website and...
Shrimp prices are sliding in Ecuador but producers say they are optimistic about long-term prospects. According to industry sources, the drop is due to a combination of factors: the overproduction of large sizes of shrimp, European buyers keeping an eye on the dollar...
The Ecuadorian Embassy in Caracas says that a record number of Venezuelans are applying for permanent residency in Ecuador. It also reports that Ecuadorian expats in Venezuela are coming home. “It’s a bad situation and many people have decided to leave,” says Roberto...
More than 56 percent of Latin American adults are overweight or obese, compared to a global average of 34 percent, according to a report by the Overseas Development Institute last year. The growing problem often affects the poorest in society, and threatens to...
The European Union (EU) has made the first payment in a plan to protect large stretches of grasslands in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. The objective of project is to protect watersheds and environmentally sensitive land above the treeline, known...
Ecuadorian authorities on Friday ordered the Guayaquil newspaper El Universo and a local cartoonist to publish an apology for a satirical photomontage of a National Assembly member which they said discriminated against Afro-Ecuadorians, in a case that is fueling...
By Marianela Jarroud In Latin America’s prisons, notorious for extreme overcrowding and violence, inmates live in constant danger of being killed – a contradiction in a region where virtually every country has abolished the death penalty. “In many Latin American...
President Rafael Correa says the country’s social security system (IESS) requires top-to-bottom reform to restore its financial stability. During his Saturday television broadcast, he said he is drafting legislation he will submit to the National Assembly to address...
Historic district property owners along the route of tram construction are complaining to city officials that they have received inadequate information about the project. In particular, Cuenca Chamber of Commerce director Jaime Moreno says that businesses on the route...
