Ecuador News

On recent weekends, the streets and parking lots of Ipiales, Colombia are filled with cars and trucks from Ecuador. In a survey taken July 22, the local newspaper reported that 60 percent of the vehicles it counted had Ecuadorian license plates. “They are coming because of the weakness of the peso against the dollar,” says...

Negotiators for the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities say “progress is being made” in talks with the government to provide targeted subsidies for gasoline and diesel fuel. “We are optimistic about what we have accomplished but a number of issues remain to be resolved,” says Conaie’s Patricio Meza. “The process will take longer than we first...

The 5.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Carchi Province Monday morning has been followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, including a 4.1 temblor early Tuesday. Centered 17.8 kilometers from Tulcán, just south of the Colombia border, the earthquake injured eight people and destroyed or damaged 143 buildings, most of them in Tulcán and San Gabriel....

“Let’s talk.” That was the message National Assembly President Virgilio Saquicela sent President Guillermo Lasso Monday. “I am asking him to establish a commission composed of  government and Assembly representatives to work out differences on proposed laws to avoid his use of the total veto,” Saquicela. “The total veto has the effect of negating the...

By Peter Millard and Stephan Kueffner Deep in the lush forests of southern Ecuador, in a cloud-covered village perched on the western edge of the Andes, a hole opened in the Earth one night late last year. Small at first, it began to slowly expand and, over the course of an hour that evening, proceeded...

Acknowledging the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country, new Health Minister Jose Ruales is encouraging people to mask up indoors. “Last week we had a 50 percent increase in cases of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, from 8,000 to almost 12,000,” he said. “One of the best ways to control infections is by wearing...

The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses reported Tuesday that Ecuador’s population has surpassed the 18 million mark but says growth is beginning moderate as the birth rate drops. The country’s population will be confirmed officially following a national census to be conducted in November and December. The Institute projects the population will reach 23.4...

The National Assembly rejected President Guillermo Lasso’s proposal to revise the national communications law Thursday, voting instead for legislation that would impose stiff penalties on the media, journalists and commenters who “besmirch the honor and good name of citizens.” Lasso called the legislation, presented by the UNES bloc, a “gag law” and a return to...

At least 13 inmates were killed Monday in a riot at the Bellavista prison in Santo Domingo. The violence comes just two months after another 44 died in gang warfare at Bellavista. The penitentiary system administration said that seven prisoners were injured during the riot and are being treated at a hospital in Santo Domingo,...