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By Lorenzo Reyes Once it was over, Sebastián Beccacece, the Ecuadorian coach, bounded over to his family sitting in the first row, his flowing, blond hair trailing behind. He climbed the wall and embraced his wife and daughters. This was the second time in the day he...
Cuenca Interim Mayor Marisol Peñaloza has ordered the resumption of debate of an ordinance that would limit the number of young male occupants on motorcycles to one. The issue was first debated in 2023 but was shelved for “technical and legal” reasons. “This proposal...
At least 164 people have died and 1,000 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Thursday, adding that rescue teams are rushing to the hardest-hit areas to free people trapped under rubble. She added that she...
On Tuesday, a delegation of 160 members of the Amazonian Siekopaai community arrived in Quito to demand that the government respect territorial rights guaranteed in a 2023 provincial court ruling. The ruling ordered the Environmental Ministry to retitle the Pë’këya...
By Victoria Waldersee Daniel Northover left his home in Liverpool this month, which marks the 10th anniversary of Britain's Brexit referendum, to move in with his 80-year-old mother in Turre, a town of 4,500 people in Andalusia in southern Spain. After his stepfather...
“Ecuador and Colombia will once again be partners in the fight against organized crime,” President Daniel Noboa said Tuesday following the apparent election of conservative Abelardo de la Espriella as president of Colombia. With 99.99% of votes counted, de la...
I had spent much of the day supervising the head of housekeeping at Larga Towers who had today arrived with a five-year-old assistant already surprisingly competent in wielding a broom and a mop. The child attacked the rugs and the floor with the focused seriousness...
By Dan Collyns and Jakub Krupa Anti-corruption activist Monika Silva Koniuszek, who investigated the real estate deal of a powerful coastal mayor and the family business of President Daniel Noboa was murdered, an autopsy showed Friday. The 41-year-old Polish expat and...
Bored? - (De El Mercurio del sábado, 20/6) Skechers abre en Mall del Alto su tienda número 23 (Skechers opens store #23 in the Mall del Alto) - <I'm treating shopping as a recreational activity for those of you who are bored with your clothes.> The chain has...
The Ecuadorian Association of Judges and Magistrates (AEMAJ) is asking the government to provide police protection to more members of the judiciary in eight provinces. The request follows the murders of Judge Leidy Gisserla in Machala on May 11 and prosecutor...
Most of us arrive in Cuenca carrying a list. We may not write it down, but it is there. A better climate. A lower cost of living. Less stress. More freedom. A fresh start. For some, the list is practical. For others, it is deeply personal. A difficult chapter has...
By John O’Farrell I first came to America from Ireland in 1984, as a young engineer about to attend business school. I chose Stanford University — partly for the weather and natural beauty, but more for the electrifying entrepreneurial spirit coursing through Silicon...
The government is “failing the litmus test of legitimacy” in the investigation of the Progen generator scandal, says former National Assemblyman and political analyst Wilson Benavides. “For three years this administration has emphasized its fight against corruption...
There is a particular kind of energetic expat who hits the ground running in Cuenca on Monday, buys him or herself an alpaca wool hoodie on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning is ready to reorganize the bus system, modernize the electrical grid, improve customer...
By Annie Correal Abelardo De La Espriella, a criminal defense lawyer with no previous political experience, appeared headed for a razor-thin victory on Sunday in Colombia’s presidential election, in what would be a win for his fervent supporters, the global right and...
My long-ago girlfriend, Sherry, finally won me over. I remember distant times when I could hardly wait for my girlfriend to get home so I could re-play the latest singer-songwriter album I found that moved me nearly to tears; I was always scouring the bins of our...
Bored? - (De El Mercurio del viernes, 19/6) - Diez días de conciertos (10 days of concerts) - The Fiesta de la Música 2026 started el jueves with programming that will continue until el 27/6, with dozens of performers, and local, national and international groups...
A few weeks ago I nearly became part of an inauguration ceremony myself, though not through any ambition on my part to mingle with visiting heads of state. I was halfway across the road when a presidential motorcade rounded the corner like a fire brigade racing to a...
By Open Society Foundations At low tide, Johana Carolina Cruz Potes steps into the mudflats around Isla Costa Rica, in Ecuador’s Jambelí Archipelago. Holding a bucket and a short metal hook, she probes the tangled roots of a mangrove patch, searching for concha negra,...
On her first full day as Cuenca mayor, Marisol Peñaloza helped negotiate an end to the suspension of nighttime bus service. The resumption of service began Thursday with a promise from bus owners that there will be no more suspensions until a new study of operating...
