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On a sunny Christmas Eve day, tens of thousands turned out to see Cuenca’s famous Pase del Niño parade. Entries from as far away as Loja, in the south, and Imbabura Province, near the Colombian border, joined hundreds more from the Cuenca area. Cuenca expats from...
The government liquidator of the Cuenca financial cooperative Coopera says that a new phase of payouts to unpaid credtiors and depositors will begin in January. Coopera was closed by the government in June following the arrest of top managers and several members of...
The city of Cuenca has rejected bids from five European companies for more than 200 bicycles to be used in the city’s bike rental program. The city said that all requirements were not met in the bids, including one to provide personal and property insurance and...
Although Ecuador has managed to keep most of the drug trade outside of its borders, there are increasing signs that it is making inroads along its northern border with Colombia and on the Pacific coast. The dreaded Mexican drug cartels have allied with former...
A survey by Ecuador’s Ministry of Health shows that 5.5 million Ecuadorians are overweight. The National Health and Nutrition Survey, conducted during 2013, reported that the country consumes carbohydrates -- mostly in the form of sugar, potatoes and rice -- in...
Ecuador has joined several other Latin American countries in seeking investments form Inida. A delegation of Ecuadorian government and business officials toured India last week in an attempt to lure investors. The delegation proposed more than 20 projects in the...
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed former Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Moreno as Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility. In his new post, Moreno will help promote the rights of people with disabilities, who number more than one...
Cuenca mayor Paul Granda has unveiled plans for a $20 million make-over of Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium. Although he said some design and engineering issues remain to be resolved, work should begin by mid-2014. The project includes a new look for the stadium as...
A 13-kilometer bicycle tour is one of Cuenca’s newest tourist attractions, according to the city’s tourism foundation. The tour begins beside the Tomebamba River, on Paseo Tres de Noviembre in the El Vado area of the historic district, and concludes in Parque Paraiso....
Six members of the failed financial cooperative Coopera began a hunger strike Tuesday night in the Parque Carlderon glorieta. The group is demanding government action to reimburse more than 600 coop members affected by the coop’s closure. Coopera members and...
By Anna Marie de la Fuente Ecuador is experiencing a mini movie production boom, churning out four to five pics a year compared with one every two years before 2007, and one every four years before 1999. Local hits such as Sebastian Cordero’s “Pescador” (2011) and the...
According to a consultant, Cuenca's cathedral requires $800,000 in repairs to stop leaks in the church’s roof. Water stains are clearly visible on the cathedral ceiling and, according to Fernando Salamea, lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of...
The Cantonal Council has decided to leave property tax assessments unchanged from last year although it plans to step up efforts to put more rural properties on the tax roles. Many rural properties are not registered, the council says. Council member Carlos Orellana...
Cuenca’s Municipal Tourism Foundation is exploring ways to increase the city’s tourist appeal beyond the historic district. Among the attractions the foundation says it will promote are the Cañar and Incan ruins in Todo Santos and Cojitambo as well as the artisanal...
Cuenca’s decision to crack down on unlicensed street and bus vendors is meeting resistance. Last Wednesday, about 70 vendors protested in Parque Calderon, claiming that their livelihood is being threatened. On Thursday, another protest was held on the Plaza Otorongo...
By Ezra Fieser The US Agency for International Development says it plans to leave Ecuador amid an impasse with the government, just six months after the agency was kicked out of Bolivia, in what analysts say is another sign of the waning US influence in the region. In...
One name stands out on the guest list of thousands of youth at a conference in Ecuador this week: Elian Gonzalez. Fourteen years after he made headlines as the subject of a bitter international custody battle, Gonzalez spoke to CNN on Tuesday. It's his first trip...
Beginning January 2014, the age limit for voluntary membership in Ecuador’s Social Security heatlh care system will be eliminated. Currently, the program will not cover those over the age of 60. The policy change opens the door to foreign retirees who are legal...
Cuenca’s Municipal Transit Authority, DMT, said it continues to study the pedestrian crossing problem on Av. Las Americas but cautions that it must complete its studies before adding new features. Residents of the Jacaranda Park neighborhood, near the entrance to the...
A hotel building boom is underway in Cuenca and current hotel and hostal owners are questioning the need for more rooms. Two mid-rise hotels are currently under construction in El Ejido, between the football stadium and Av. Solano, and a larger one, in the design...
