Ecuador News

Beauty pageants in Ecuador may soon go the way of the horse and buggy and bib and tucker. Calling pageants “archaic and discriminatory,” the chairwoman of the board that has traditionally staged the Queen of Quito contest, announced Tuesday that there would be no beauty pageant in 2019. Liliana Yunda, sister of Quito Mayor Jorge...

According to some Alianza Pais (AP) members, the political party that has held Ecuador’s presidency for 12 years, needs to redefine its purpose. “The party desperately needs a new direction if it is to be a force in the next election and beyond,” says Ximena Peña, a member of the National Assembly, suggesting that AP...

By By Marshall Cohen, Kay Guerrero and Arturo Torres New documents obtained exclusively by CNN reveal that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received in-person deliveries, potentially of hacked materials related to the 2016 US election, during a series of suspicious meetings at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The documents build on the possibility, raised by special...

For the second consecutive year, Ecuador took home more trophies at the South America World Travel Awards ceremony than any other country. Among its honors, were: Top overall city destination (Quito); top beach destination (Galapagos); top business destination (Guayaquil); and top vacation city destination (Cuenca). In addition, Ecuador was also recognized for having the continent’s...

The Pastaza Provincial court has upheld an April decision by a lower court prohibiting the government from pursing oil exploration on 180,000 hectares of Amazon territory claimed by the Waorani indigenous community. According to the Waorani and their supporters, the land in question is 90 percent virgin jungle. In the April ruling, a court in...

Ecuador’s attorney general’s office says that it is beginning an investigation of members of the recently elected Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (Cpccs). The action follows a vote by the Cpccs to review judicial appointments made by its predecessor council, the transitional Cpccs, that ended its service in June. Specifically, the investigation is...

Minister of the Environment Marcelo Mata said Wednesday that he plans to move quickly to eliminate single-use plastics in Ecuador. “We have established a three-month deadline to reach agreements with the plastic industry, businesses and consumers with the intent of removing most single-use plastics from use in our country.” Mata acknowledged that the government’s plan...

According to a gay rights activist group, at least two dozen same-sex couples were legally married Tuesday in civil ceremonies around Ecuador. Although the Constitutional Court legalized same-sex marriage June 12, the ruling did not take effect until it was registered Monday night in the government registry of laws and court decision. “I am certain...

President Lenin Moreno arrived in Italy Monday on the first leg of a three-nation European visit to promote investment in Ecuador. On Tuesday, he meets with Italian President Sergio Mattarella while meetings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutt. Moreno is also scheduled to meet...

Ecuador’s agricultural ministry has ordered measures to protect the country’s banana industry from the so-called “Panama Disease” fungus that has ravaged the crop in other countries. The ministry has dispatched more than 100 agents to banana-growing regions in the coastal lowlands to train growers on ways to prevent infestation. The government has imposed a quarantine...

Ecuador will join the market-friendly regional trade bloc the Pacific Alliance next year, the president of Peru said on Saturday, in the latest sign of the South American country’s rightward shift under President Lenin Moreno. The Pacific Alliance was formed by Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Chile in 2012 to promote free trade and strengthen ties...