Ecuador News

Ecuador’s Attorney General’s office began a preliminary investigation into statements made over the weekend by Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) President Jaime Vargas in which he called for the creation of an army to protect indigenous people. On Tuesday, President Lenín Moreno’s private secretary Juan Sebastián Roldán said the president was concerned about Vargas’ statement....

Following a meeting with Quito Mayor Jorge Yunda, Ecuador’s United Workers Front (FUT) said it is considering calling off its announced October 30 protest march. FUT President Messiah Tatamuez said that many of his members favor opening discussions with the government that would be mediated by the United Nations and Catholic Church. “After carefully listening...

Facebook says it has discovered extensive Russian and Iranian online networks working through its platform that are dedicated to influencing and disrupting political activity in more than two dozen countries. The networks, composed of thousands of Facebook and Instagram accounts, target political parties and campaigns in the U.S., North Africa, the Middle East and Latin...

The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie), Jaime Vargas, says that Ecuador’s indigenous movement should consider forming its own army to protect its rights. “We must continue to pressure the government to achieve our goals,” he said Sunday. “To do this, we must consider creating our own army to provide security for our...

The government hopes to generate almost $600 million in new revenue from a series of new taxes and adjustments to current taxes. The package of proposals, which does not include an increase to Ecuador’s 12 percent IVA tax, was submitted to the National Assembly on Saturday. Among the proposals is an income tax surcharge for...

University of Cuenca student Pablo Israel Correa has been sentenced to four months in prison for inciting violence and destruction of public property. According to prosecutors, during the October 16 anti-government strike Correa installed a steel cable between two Calle Simon Bolivar traffic light polls that led to the destruction of the lights and polls...

The government announced Friday that it has ended talks with Ecuador’s largest labor union after the union announced plans for an October 30 protest in Quito. In the same announcement, the government said it was continuing its work with Ecuador’s indigenous movement based on Sunday’s agreement that ended 12 days of protests. “The voice of...

The revival of the popular U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines could be just weeks away, as its modern reincarnation, Eastern Airlines, has announced the start of flights on December 5. The airline is planning to begin twice-weekly service using a Boeing 767-300ER between New York, JFK and Guayaquil. In a press release by the company,...

The Ecuador tourism industry is asking the government for extra promotion of the national holidays at the beginning of November. The Day of the Dead and Cuenca’s independence holidays fall on the weekend this year, on November 2 and 3, but Friday November 1 and Monday November 4 will be added, making for a four-day...

Indigenous leaders say they are not opposed to eliminating some gasoline and diesel subsidies so long as they don’t affect the poorest Ecuadorians. “We agree that there should be a reduction in the subsidy but it should apply to those who can afford to pay more,” says Leonidas Iza, leader of the Indigenous and Peasant...

Ecuador’s ECU911 emergency response system suffered extensive damage to its technical equipment during the anti-government protests from October 3 to 13. According to Juan Zapata, ECU911 director, 80 cameras were destroyed nationwide during the period. In addition to the cameras, dozens of control boxes and wiring panels were damaged or destroyed and two ECU911 monitoring...