Cajas highway closed to nighttime travel; 300 holiday events begin tomorrow (see schedule); IESS director resigns over corruption; Cuenca fuel pipeline restored

Martes, 19/10/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades – See article below on the Fiestas de Cuenca.

Titular –

En las noches no circularán carros (No cars will circulate at night) -There are new restrictions on km. 49 on the vía Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme due to falling rock. The Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas called for an indefinite closure to vehicular traffic from 19:00 to 5:00. This will apply to private cars, public transport, and heavy vehicles until further notice. Alternative routes are the vías Cuenca-Azogues-Biblán-Zhud-Cochancay-La Troncal-El Triunfo and Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje. MTOP has established a technical alternative with an estimated budget of $5 million to control the macroslide at km. 49. The work would include building 2 upper berms with a drainage gutter and a dynamic barrier on the slope. 300 meters of the original road would be moved, and the lane closest to the hillside being converted into a retention area. The only thing lacking is a geological report on the rock itself which will take 30-40 days.

Cuenca –

Ministry of Transportation continue efforts to keep the Cajas highway open during daylight hours.

Aspiran al retorno total a las aulas (Aspirations for a total return to the classroom) – Dozens of kids and their parents showed up early at the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) to be part of the first group of vaccinations of kids under 11. The schedule of vaccinations of kids from 11 to 6 will be sent to the schools and shots given in order of age starting with age 11 and working down. In Cuenca the vaccination site will be the UPS and in rural areas at the closet health center. Johana Abad, the Zone coordinadora de Educación, said the goal is to have all students return to classrooms by enero, 2022. She pointed out that vaccinations are not obligatory. Children should come with their legal guardians and show their cédulas and parent’s or guardian’s authorization. Kids will get 2 doses, Pfizer for 5 year olds, and Sinovac for 6 and overs with the 2nd shot in 28 days. It is recommended that parents monitor their kids for reactions and go to emergency if the child has redness or swelling of the arm, general malaise, fever or trouble breathing. There are ambulances at the vaccine centers.

For teens from 12-17 getting their first doses, vaccinations are continuing at the coliseo Jefferson Pérez. For second doses, teens should go to the Unidad Educativa Manuela Garaicoa. In this group, to date, 60% of the kids in both the public and private schools systems have been vaccinated.

Director provincial del IESS denuncia mafias al interior de la institución (Provincial Director of the IESS denounces mafias within the institution) – Fabián Carpio, provincial director of the IESS announced his resignation from the post he has held since agosto, 2021. He said that when he accepted the position he had the conviction that the central authorities were going to make deep reforms to the Seguridad Social, but the reality was otherwise. He said there were mafias enraizadas (rooted – your word for the day) at local and national levels inside the institution which are continuing to benefit from the contributions from affiliates. He said that to be part of this game without the will to put things in order is to be part of the corruption, and he preferred to resign. El Mercurio asked the publicity department of IESS to respond and was referred to the General Director. It had not received any response by press time.

Hoy esperan superar desabastecimiento (Today they hope to overcome shortages) – The Agencia de Regulación y Control de Energía y Recursos Naturales no Renovables (Arcernner -Agency for the Regulation and Control of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources) announced that between the afternoon and night of today, sales of diesel to service stations in Cuenca will return to normal. The problem was that a tanker carrying imported fuel was unable to dock and off load in La Libertad due to maritime traffic and meteorological conditions. Because of this EP Petroecuador was unable to pump the diesel to the Terminal de Productos Limpios in Cuenca in Challuabamba. Until the problem was solved, fuel was trucked to Cuenca from the Estación Pascuales in Guayaquil. Pumping through the Poliducto Pascuales-Cuenca resumed yesterday with 1.2 million gallons arriving with local deliveries starting today. Daily demand for diesel premium for Cuenca is 125,000 gallons with another 150,000 gallons for the other cantons in Azuay. There are 31 gas stations in Cuenca, another 49 in other cantons, 29 in Cañar, and 17 in Morona Santiago.

Avenida vuelve doble vía (Avenue returns to two-way) – Av. Veintisiete de Febrero from Solano to Francisco Moscoso returned to two way traffic yesterday with the completion of the bike lane. EMOV is asking drivers to procede with caution through this zone which is permanently controlled by traffic cops. The completed sections of the bike lanes are along 1 de Mayo from Loja to the Felipe Segundo bridge, on 10 de Agosto, with other work in the Parque El Paraíso and at av. Pumapungo and Los Eucaliptos.

300 actos para festejar a Cuenca (300 events to celebrate Cuenca) – The celebrations of Cuenca’s 201 years of independence will start el jueves, 21/10 and run to el 10/12. The schedule with over 300 activities was presented yesterday. Various municipal institutions invested around $400,000 with 83% of the budget going to local groups, 6% to national groups and the rest to international artists who will come during the holidays. Key events will include “El Vado, cultura del Barrio” on 28/10; the Festival de las Artes on 30 & 31/10 in the ex Escuela Central with clowns, face painting and stage works; the Festival de Música Independiente on 30/10 in the Parque Jacaranda with H. con Rumba, La Doble, Swing Original Monks, and Guardarraya. On 31/10 and 1/11 a las 20:00, the Compañía Nacional de Danza de Ecuador will perform “La consagración de la primavera” in the Teatro of the Casa de la Cultura. There will also be concerts in the “Alejandro Serrano Aguilar” stadium on 31/10, 1/11, & 1/11. Capacity for each concert will be 15,000 with tickets available at the ex Escuela Central. The dates when tickets will be available will be announced. On the 3/11, there will be a sesión solemne for the 201 years of independence. The agenda for the fiestas can be downloaded from http://www.cuenca.gov.ec/…/AGENDA_FiestasCuenca2021.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.