Bus strike is suspended; Country’s most dangerous roads identified; Bilingual guide to medicinal plants; Chinese food in Cuenca; Ecuador’s centenarians

Lunes, 15/7/2024

Hola, Todos –

Titular –

¡Bicampeones! – Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win the Copa América for the 2nd year in a row. <At least I think that’s what they did.>

Cuenca –

The national bus strike scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday has been suspended, the transport union announced Monday.

Transportes annuncio suspension del paro para martes y miércoles (Bus union announces the suspension of strike for Tuesday and Wednesday) – The scheduled strike by intra- and inter-provincial buses scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday has been suspended until further notice. “There will be no ‘engine blackout’ in Ecuador on Tuesday and Wednesday,” president of the National Federation of Interprovincial Passenger Transport Cooperatives (Fenacotip) Abel Gómez said Monday. The strike had been called to protest crime against bus passengers and drivers and the lack of government protection on bus routes. Gómez said, however, that “future radicalization” may be considered if the government does not meet Fenacotip demands within 15 days. He added that Fenacotip as broken off talks with the government until it receives a response.

Recaudación histórica (Historic collections) – Between enero a junio, 2024, collections by the Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI – Internal Revenue Service) reached $10.281 billion, representing an increase of l7% over the same period last year when $9.609 billion was collected. In junio of 2024, collections reached $1.536 billion, an increase of 15% over junio de 2023.

De El Mercurio del domingo, 14/7 (2 articles):

Una guía digital y bilingüe sobre plantas medicinales (A digital and bilingual guide to medicinal plants) <And thanks again to you helpful readers who showed me how to type the ü.> – The free digital Farmacopea Heroblaria has compiled scientific research into medicinal plants in Ecuador. The initiative was developed by 4 Ecuadorian universities. The www.farmacopea.ec site has research into 14 plants in Spanish, with summaries in English and Quichua. Each monograph took a year of research and includes the chemical composition of each plant, its geographic location and doses for medical treatments. It also has reliable data on the active principles of plants and their rational use in therapeutics, and provides documents with innocuous <Does that mean no huge list of potentially fatal side effects?> and simple preparations to be used in different ailments.

The objective is to fuse science with ancestral knowledge. For example, the platform describes the benefits of guayusa which is used to treat diabetes, kidney inflammation and polycystic ovaries. It also mentions the use of ajenjo (wormwood or absinthe) to treat fever and chills. Mary Muenala, representative of the “Kichwa Institute of Science, Technology and Humanities (KISTH) emphasized the importance of this project to revitalize ancestral knowledge. <How long do you think it will take for the pharmaceutical giants to read this information, patent it, shut the site down, and start suing traditional healers for infringing on their patents?>

The translation of the monographs into Quichua has been important since the language is essential for the preservation of ancestral knowledge. The Farmacopea Herbolaria allows health and sanitation authorities to control the quality of the plants and determine how they should be used. Fabián Leon, a researcher at the U. of Cuenca who presented the platform, said that in Hispanoamerica and Latin America, we still have confidence in natural products and treatments, and alternative medicine. Many people use and benefit from the concept of the cosmovision of health, thanks to the plants and natural products. The Farmacopea Herbolaria uses standardization and scientific validation for the use of traditional medicines. This guarantees that their effectiveness and safety conform to the criteria of the World Health Organization. <With that mention of the WHO, this platform probably just lost credibility with a whole bunch of you. So stay away from that guayusa tea.>

INEC: 2.738 personas son centenarias en el Ecuador (INEC: Ecuador has 2,738 centenarians) – There are 1.5 million senior citizens in Ecuador and of those, 2,738 are over 100 years old. The percentage of adultos mayores (seniors) increased from 6.2% in 2010 to 9% in 2022. The largest concentration of seniors is in Loja with 11.9% or 57,799 people. Bolívar is next with 11.7& (23,272) followed by Cañar at 11.6% 26,481). Loja also has the most centenarians <and Vilcabamba would probably claim is has the majority of those centenarians>. For Cuenca, 10% (59,460) of the population is over 65. Nationally, of those over 65, 54% are women and 46% are men. <Those internet pictures of guys standing on a ladder balanced on a 12th floor balcony rail, or under a huge truck with a “jack” made of 2×4’s roped together, helps explain some of the difference in survival rates.> For housing, 76% of seniors own their own home, free and clear. 11.5% live in a home with a loan, 8.5% rent, 0.4% live in group housing or are unhoused.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 13/7 (2 articles):

Cuenca es ejemplo de ‘eficiencia ambiental’ (Cuenca is an example of ‘environmental efficiency’) – Cuenca was awarded 1st place in the “Desafío de Ciudades” (Cities Challenge) last viernes in a ceremony in the auditorium of the Jardín Botánico by the “One Planet City Challenge” of the WWF. The world wide environmental organization is in about 100 countries and promotes the battle against climate change starting a a local level. Tarsicio Granizo, director of WWF Ecuador, said that Cuenca was recognized for its efforts in confronting climate change in 2 fundamental themes: adaptation and mitigation. Examples include the tranvia which is electric, EMAC’s biogas plant which converts organic waste into clean energy, and programs to collect used batteries, oils and other materials. Granizo said that Cuenca is not only a national example, but a regional and worldwide example. The “Desafío de Ciudades” was held globally with participation by over 350 cities that are part of the WWF.

‘Sabores y texturas’ de la comida china (‘Flavors and textures’ of Chinese food) – Chinese food in Ecuadorian gastronomy has a combination of tastes and textures using vegetables, fish, and seafood along with a variety of sauces as the main ingredients. Typical dishes include fried wontons, noodles, chaulafán <which is as Chinese as chop suey>, soups and salads. There are Chinese restaurants all over Cuenca if you want to try something different. Most of the owners are Chinese who have come for new opportunities in the Western Hemisphere. Jia Jin who has the “Jia Jin Chinese Food” restaurant on av. Ordoñez Lasso with his wife, Natalia Campoverde from La Troncal, came to Cuenca 6 years ago. Bingui Liu, opened the “Chifa Bingui” 16 years ago on Remigio Crespo y Esmeraldas and specializes in mixed chaulafán with noodles. There has also been a fusion of Chinese and Ecuadorian food. The food at “Chinatown” on Pres. Borrero y Juan Jaramillo shows this distinct touch. Steve Carchi runs the business started by his father and is constantly innovating to adapt to Ecuadorian tastes whicl maintaining the original recipes as his starting point. <This could be good or it could be inedible depending on the adaptations.>

Nacional –

Gobierno digitaliza servicios consulares (Government digitalizes consular services) – The Government presented a project to digitalize consular services to facilitate paperwork for overseas Ecuadorians and for foreigners worldwide. The services include apostilling academic degrees, assigning appointments and requesting visas through electronic media. Payment for these services is also digital. The project has 5 products, the most innovative of which is the ChatBot ‘Sami’ which offers immediate assistance powered by AI and is available 24 hours on the web page and social networks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is also a portal for apostilles and electronic legalizations which allow legalizing documents with an electronic signature without an appointment and with on-line payment options. The eVisa system facilitates the application for and receipt of electronic visas from any part of the world. This will expedite visa management and contribute to secure tourism. The Turnos Web system is available for people to manage their appointments in person.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 13/7 (1 article):
Identifican las diez vías más peligrosas del país (The country’s 10 most dangerous roads identified) – According to data from the Federación Nacional de Transporte Público de Pasajeros (Fenacotip), 10 roads have been listed as the country’s most dangerous with over 140 cases of kidnapping, robberies, and murders this year to date. Abel Gómez, manager of Fenacotip said they are Cuenca-Guayaquil; Quito-Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas; Quevedo-Guayaqui; Guayaquil-Naranjal; Machala-Huaquillas: Guayaquil-El Triunfo; Santo Domingo-Esmeraldas; Manabí-Santo Domingo; Guayas-Manabí; and the ruta del Spondylus. Gómez explained that the methods used by the gangs have become more violent. Before, members would board the buses at stops, but now they are intercepting them in pick-ups, and if the driver refuses to stop, they shoot throught the windshield at close range. Videos of an attack on a bus on the El Truinfo-Bucay route show exactly this situation.

To demand more security on the roads, the intra and interprovincial buses had planned a “silencio de motores” (“silence of engines”) strike for martes y miércoles but has been called off until further notice, according to Fenacotip. The said Monday a strike may be staged in the future if the government does not meet a list of union demands.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne