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Editor’s note: CuencaHighLife restaurant reviewer Larry Schunk enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1960 and, following two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was wounded, he was retrained in aviation electronics and pioneered the Marine Corps Computer Based Training (CBT) system. Following his military service, Larry was an information systems consultant for several...
Passenger traffic through Cuenca’s Mariscal La Mar airport dropped by almost 25% in 2014, a decline officials say is mostly the result of the opening of Quito’s new international airport. Officials report that about 381,000 passengers traveled through Cuenca in 2014 compared to 493,587 in 2013. “This is a very large decline but it is...
Ecuador and China have signed agreements to cooperate on a variety of issues, including immigration, education and the development of renewable energy. The most significant agreement, however, is China’s offer of a $7.5 billion line of credit that Ecuador can tap over a 30-year period. The two countries agreed on an annual interest rate of...
It was an evening of spoofs and satire at Tuesday’s Mascaradas de Inocentes parade. Politicians, government policies, television personalities, expats, and even the dead, were lampooned during the three-hour procession down Cuenca’s Av. Huayna Capac. The parade, sponsored by the Cuenca Amistad Club and the Azuay journalists’ union, attracted a crowd estimated at 25,000 by...
Ecuador says that devaluations in Colombian and Peruvian currency, coupled with dropping oil prices and a strong U.S. dollar, mandate increased taxes on imports from those nations to maintain trade equality. Ecuador’s Committee on Foreign Trade (Comex) ordered the tax on Monday which amounts to 21% on 3,098 Colombian products and 7% on 2,339 Peruvian...
Ecuador will trim $1.4 billion from its 2015 budget to compensate for the loss of oil revenue, the country’s Finance Ministry announced Monday. The reduction represents about 4% of the country’s $35 billion annual budget. Finance Minister Fausto Herrera says that the drop in international oil prices has forced the cuts. Oil revenue is the...
A significant number of Cuenca’s 3,600 taxis are out of service, according to some taxi drivers. The reason, they say, is that the fare scheduled programmed into taxi meters in 2014 has reduced the income for drivers, and some taxistas have taken other employment. “They get new jobs or they have private agreements with a...
By Sylvan Hardy Since 2011, Ecuador has spent a greater percentage of its GDP on infrastructure and social programs than any country in the western hemisphere. Although it may maintain that distinction in 2015 since it holds a huge advantage over second-place Canada, the country is almost certain to see major spending cuts. The reason:...
By Jim Wyss On Calle Ocho in Quito’s La Florida neighborhood, a few dozen Cubans mill around, downing tar-thick espresso and explaining to curious locals how to cook malanga. But the snow-capped volcano peeking through the clouds dispels notions that this scene is unfolding in South Florida or the Caribbean. When Cuba began relaxing travel...
The U.S., British and French embassies in the United Arab Emirates have issued their annual warnings to expats to keep their holiday celebrations under wraps. Even in the UAE’s most sophisticated city, Dubai, which has the area’s most relaxed social rules, foreign residents frequently run afoul of strict decency laws and prohibitions during the holidays,...
Only days after final debate in the National Assembly, a new law that imposes a 100% special usage tax on gas appliances and eliminates the VAT tax on electric stoves and cooktops, becomes effective January 1. Ecuadorian business organizations say it is another example of the government’s anti-business agenda and a blow against individual freedom...
Doña Albalina Espinoza’s cellphone rattled with the incoming warning call at 2:30 p.m: “The Chinese are coming!” the voice hissed. Espinoza quickly hung up, then dialed the next number on the list: “The Chinese are coming!” she repeated. Within minutes, all 150 families in the lakeside village of Obrajuelo had been alerted to the interlopers’...
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The Cuenca Dispatch
Week of April 28
General Motors Auto Parts Manufacturer Laments: “Today Marks a Dark Day for the National Industry”.
Minister Requests Resignations in Termogás Machala, Dubbed ‘Epicenter of Energy Inefficiency’.
Chevrolet to Cease Car Assembly in Ecuador by August, Production to Halt in Colombia.
Discounts at Gran Colombia News
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