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A magnitude-5.1 earthquake rocked Quito and the surrounding areas early Tuesday afternoon, causing tall buildings to sway and sending some people rushing into the streets. The government said three people were confirmed dead and eight injured outside Quito. A a 4.1...
By Susan Schenck Culture shock usually revolves around traveling to and through a country you’ve never visited before. So it’s a surprise to experience it in the culture to which you’re most accustomed. I took a bus to Guayaquil to catch my flight on Copa, which...
On Tuesday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced via Twitter that "Ecuador has decided to open an embassy in Palestine," to join the country's "diplomatic mission in Ramallah" which he termed, "the heart of Palestine." Ecuador recalled its ambassador to...
A second prominent Ecuadorian politiician has thrown his support behind an effort to force a national referendum on a constitutional amendment to eliminate term limits for elected offices. The amendment would allow President Rafael Correa to seek a third full term as...
By James McKindley, Jr. The simple black-and-white advertisement, addressed to “whom it may concern” in all capitals, had a taunting, catch-me-if-you-can tone. The author said he could be served legal papers only in his native Ecuador and only in person. “It would...
More than a 100 national police and Ecuador Internal Revenue Service officers (SRI) swooped down on a Cuenca neighborhood on Wednesday, confiscating cars and handing out legal writs for nonpayment of taxes. The early morning raid in the Calles Amazona and Chile barrio...
Former Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez says he will lead an effort to force a public referendum on the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the indefinite reelection of public officials, including the president. Gutierrez was elected president in...
El Salvador has joined four other Latin American countries in recalling its Israel ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest at the military's ground and air offensive in the Gaza Strip. Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have all recalled their diplomatic representatives...
Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera is negotiating with the French government for a grant to study converting the city’s bus fleet to electric or LP gas power. Currently, buses use diesel fuel, which is blamed for localized air pollution in some areas of the city,...
No sooner had Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia's president, secured himself a second term in a run-off election in June than he announced that he wants to prevent such a thing happening again. He will propose a constitutional change barring immediate re-election and...
Although it began as a protest against road work, a group of historic district business owners are now demanding that Cuenca’s light rail project be stopped. Business owners and their supporters marched through the historic district on Friday demanding that Mayor...
A court in Ecuador convicted six police officers on Friday of attempting to assassinate President Rafael Correa during a 2010 rebellion that left 10 people dead and 274 wounded. During the police mutiny, which erupted over bonus cuts, protesting officers besieged...
By Andrew Diaz In 2008 Ecuador officially recognized the human right to water, joining only nine other countries that have done the same since 1994. Section One, Article 12 of the Ecuadorian Constitution states, “The human right to water is essential and cannot be...
A Cuenca committee reviewing new taxi fares says that new federal rules prevent it from deciding on fares proposed by a University of Cuenca consulting team. Taxi owners and some committee members were angered by the new delay of at least 15 days. It was not clear how...
As the proposed taxi fares schedule faces its first government review today, no one is happy. A tripartite committee of taxi owners, citizens and government officials meets this afternoon to discuss the fares proposed by a team of consultants from the University of...
There’s good news for Ecuador air travelers. With the opening of a new four-lane highway, the drive time from Quito to the new Mariscal Sucre Airport at Tababela has been cut almost in half. A poll of drivers taking the new Collas-Tababela route say it took between 36...
Ecuador’s poverty rate has dropped by 12% since 2006 according to Ecuador’s Ministry of Planning and Development. The ministry also reports that Cuenca has the lowest poverty rate among the country’s municipalities. According to Pabel Muñoz, planning and development...
Ecuador's 2013 communications law should be used as a basis for the rest of the region, as it would "strengthen democracy, solidarity, culture and identity," says national assembly member Octavio Villacreces. The communication law, pushed by President Rafael Correa,...
A few details of the new trade agreement between Ecuador and the European Union are beginning to leak out and they point to lower costs on a number imports from Europe, including liquor and cars. Although President Rafael Correa has gone to great lengths to claim the...
The first phase of the project to renovate Cuenca's San Francisco Plaza is underway as workers prepare the Passage León building on Presidente Cordova for reconstruction. The building, which features a large glass-roofed foyer, belonged to bank that failed 14 years...
