Posts:
There was a new tone at Sunday’s organizational session of the newly elected National Assembly: one of reconciliation and cooperation. Although Alianza País retains its majority, its control of Ecuador’s legislature was greatly reduced in the recent elections and...
Ecuador’s first transgender lawmaker is set to take office on Sunday, marking an important milestone for the LGBTI rights movement in the South America. Diane Rodriguez, 34, will serve as an alternate lawmaker for the National Assembly and will help legislate for the...
Businesses that depend on air travel say they cannot compete with other South American countries due to high taxes and airport user fees that drive up the prices of tickets. They insist they need a break and are pinning their hopes on incoming president Lenin Moreno....
By Olivia Zaleski As Airbnb Inc. turns its attention to Latin America, the often-combative company is taking an unusual approach. It's giving local governments what they want. The home and apartment-rental company said it will collect and remit taxes in Mexico City,...
Although military spending rose worldwide over the last year, Latin America saw a big drop. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released 2016 data last month showing that, after the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean’s military spending fell...
By Liam Higgins Although it’s been largely out of the headlines, a deadly resurgence of the international drug trade is building in Colombia and Peru. Unfortunately, Ecuador finds itself in the middle and is struggling to keep a potential blood bath out of the...
The Guayaquil Municipal Transit Authority has ordered the international taxi service Cabify to end its operations in the city. The authority claims that the company is operating “informally” since it does not follow rules that apply to other taxi companies in the...
President Rafael Correa has rejected criticism from the new president of Ecuador’s Catholic Episcopal Conference who said last week that Correa’s style of governing has created a “badly divided country and a bad taste in people’s mouths.” Monsignor Eugenio Arellano...
Ecuador’s National Assembly begins debate today on significant changes and additions to the country’s health laws. Many of the provisions of the proposed legislation are controversial, legislators say, and have not been discussed in the past. Included in the...
In its periodic review of the country's human rights record, a United Nations panel gives Ecuador high marks for its record on poverty reduction, handicapped accessibility, expansion of right for women and children, and immigration. But the panel, which included...
Thousands of Ecuadorian car buyers had their first look Saturday at the latest models of European cars. They also saw for the first time the impact of the recently signed trade agreement with the European Union on car prices. Prices were 11% to 15% lower on 2017...
Although many of them did not support Lenin Moreno in the recent election, Ecuador’s business leaders say they are hopeful that the new president will follow through on promises to improve the country’s business climate. During the campaign, Moreno met frequently with...
By Parker Asmann New details have emerged on the largely unknown operations of a recently-captured Ecuadorian drug trafficker, shedding light on the crucial, and often overlooked, role that Ecuador plays in the international drug trade. On April 11, Colombian...
Is the United Nations’ goal of eradicating poverty by 2030 actually feasible? New research out of Ecuador says yes – if governments are willing to pay for it. According to a United Nations University (UNU) - Merit study of Ecuador’s Human Development Bonus (Bono de...
Adding to the already long list of grievances they had with their guest, officials at the Ecuadorian embassy reported Thursday that they were beginning to get really sick of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange always leaving his dirty dishes around the premises. Sources...
Less than two months before he takes office, President-elect Lenin Moreno and his advisors are focusing on how to cover the costs of the new government. In particular, they grapple with how to make good on promises that candidate Moreno during the campaign. Moreno...
Although the government claims that Ecuador’s national debt is $27.3% of GDP (gross national product), its own figures show that it is actually 40.2%. According to Ministry of Finance information, the country’s debt stood at $40.47 billion at the end of March....
Ecuador’s Electoral Court (TCE) has rejected a petition by presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso and his Creo party for nullification of the April 2 runoff election. According to the official vote count, Lasso lost to Lenin Moreno of Alianza País by a 51.16% to...
Ecuador’s government has fined seven newspapers and television stations for not publishing a story it claims was of public interest. The fines, backed by President Rafael Correa, may never be collected, however. Lenin Moreno, who succeeds Correa in May, says he...
Text and photos by John Keeble Rubi Valeria Vera Cusme has been living in a tent – a frame with recycled advertising banners stretched over it – for nearly a year. But now she is moving into a small, two-storey wood-frame house being built for her on her parent’s...
