CuencaHighLife

By Jim Wyss Ecuador’s presidential vote Sunday pits two radically different views of the country against each other that will have ripple effects across the region. But it’s also highlighting another quirk of this South American nation: its continuing use of well-known historical names — even infamous ones that would be anathema in other places....

Lenin Moreno declared victory Sunday night in Ecuador’s hotly contested presidential election. He told cheering supporters that he will continue the work of President Rafael Correa but said there would be changes in both substance and style. He admitted that his narrow victory indicated a deeply divided electorate. Morerno’s challenger, Guillermo Lasso, said he will contest...

By shortly after 5 p.m. this afternoon, Ecuadorians will most likely know if Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution will continue for another four years. Although Correa is leaving office after 10 years, his would-be heir apparent, Lenin Moreno, says he will maintain most of Correa’s center-left policies but with a change of management style. Conservative challenger...

Ecuador’s National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI) isn’t having much luck explaining the weather. “This is not an El Niño,” says José Olmedo, director of INAMHI. “The reason for the exceptional rainfall is a rare phenomenon of very high ocean temperatures near the coastline of Ecuador and Peru. The news media continues to call...

Ecuadorian national police have unearthed the body of a 65-year-old U.S. citizen buried under a house in Guayaquil. They reported that the body of Jonathan Charles Gilchrist, a resident of Salinas, was found buried under a concrete slab. Prosecutor Santiago Rivadeneira said Friday that two women who lived in the house were taken into custody...

Ecuador entered its pre-election “quiet period” at 12:01 Friday morning and the dry law, banning the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, goes into effect at noon. The rules remain in force through Sunday’s presidential runoff election. The campaigns of Lenin Moreno and Guillermo Lasso wrapped up Thursday night, as the candidates carried out a...