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National Police are cracking down on sex trade workers near the bus station and along Av. Huayana Capac but say identifying prostitutes is often difficult. Authorities say that the sex business attracts crime and presents a bad image for the city. In addition to...
By David Luhnow There are two Latin Americas right now. The first is a bloc of countries—including Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela—that faces the Atlantic Ocean, mistrusts globalization and gives the state a large role in the economy. The second—made up of countries...
Education Minister Augusto Espinosa says that the government plans to reduce the number of public schools from 18,000 to 5,564 over the next 10 years. “Our educational system was designed to meet the needs of the last century,” he said. “It is time we move ahead to...
The government has launched an effort to make Ecuador a more attractive destination for Chinese tourists. According to Patricio Tamariz, Deputy Minister of Tourism, the plan involves increasing advertising aimed at the Chinese market. The tourism ministry reports that...
Ecuador's foreign debt in October totaled $18.33 billion, up 16% from a year before, the central bank said. The amount is equivalent to about 20% of Ecuador's $90 billion gross domestic product forecast for 2013. According to current law, the country's debt-to-GDP...
It’s barely been a month since Uruguay moved to legalize marijuana, and yet the effects of the decision are already being felt well outside of its borders. Neighboring Argentina, a long-time proponent of keeping marijuana illegal, gave its first indication that...
In a year-end interview, President Rafael Correa said he intends to make streamlining government paperwork a priority for 2014. Although the original intent was to reduce the steps and time required to establish and operate a business, Correa said that red tape needs...
Police are turning up more cases of a new fad among the city’s youth: getting drunk by gum drops. Apparently imported from the U.S., the practice involves soaking gum drops in heated liquor before they are consumed. Several parties where the loaded gum drops were...
City lawyers are finding it slow going purchasing property along the route of the Av. Ordoñez Lasso reconstruction and widening project. Work is scheduled to begin in February on the 6.5-kilometer on the route that begins at the Av. Las Americas redondel but...
Although the National Transit Agency has set December 31 as the deadline for installing meters in the country’s taxis, the lack of a new rate schedule will delay the implementation of the new system in Cuenca for two to three months. A commission of taxi companies,...
President Rafael Correa warned Monday that reports that U.S. intelligence played a role in a 2008 Colombian attack on FARC rebels in northern Ecuador could threaten regional peace efforts. Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that a secret Central...
According the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the economic condition of Ecuadorians has improved for the fifth consecutive year. The year-end improvement, per capita, is estimated at 2.1%. Victor Hugo Alban, President of the College of...
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...
