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President Rafael Correa announced on Wednesday that the national VAT on goods and services will increase from 12% to 14% for a period of one year to help cover the cost of earthquake recovery. The president also announced a one-time 3% surtax on profits and income for...
U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Todd Chapman said on Wednesday that the U.S. government has sent teams of aid workers to Ecuador's earthquake-ravaged north coast. He also asked expats to assist in locating missing U.S. citizens. "The Ecuadorian government has accepted our...
As powerful aftershocks from Saturday's deadly 7.8 earthquake continue to rock Ecuador’s coast, President Rafael Correa said Tuesday that early estimates put reconstruction costs at more than $3 billion. “Recovering and rebuilding will be a long, painful process,”...
Steven Giddings has been a volunteer relief worker at dozens of natural disasters during his life. He was on the scene following major earthquakes in Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti, and Chile. He has delivered food and supplies in Louisiana, Florida, Texas and North...
President Rafael Correa Tweeted Sunday morning that the official death toll has risen to 233 but he expects the toll to go much higher. Correa is on his way back to Ecuador from Rome where he was participating in an academic forum in Vatican City. An hour later, Vice...
A mounting death toll and widespread damage is being reported following a strong earthquake centered on the northern coast of Ecuador, near Muisne. The United States Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.8 on the Richter Scale, making it the strongest earthquake...
President Rafael Correa criticized the dominance of financial markets over the needs of people Friday, in a presentation at Vatican City in Rome. “The great challenge of western democracy in our century is to replace market dominance with the recognition of the value...
Will President Rafael Correa “feel the Bern”? Correa and U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will share the stage today at a seminar about social justice and the rights of workers at Vatican City. Correa arrived in Rome Thursday morning following a...
A Chinese company plans to open a chain of coffee shops throughout China using Ecuadorian coffee. Inkalab says it will build its brand based on the successful Starbucks business model. Inkalab announced last week that it will buy several varieties of Ecuadorian coffee...
A day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its world economic forecast for 2016, Ecuador’s Minister of Economic Policy claimed that IMF predictions are almost always wrong. “They never get it right,” said Patricio Rivera, suggesting that the IMF annual...
In its latest report on the global economy, the International Monetary Fund confirms what most Ecuadorians already know. The economy is in a deep recession. The IMF predicts that that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 4.5% in 2016 and 4.3% in...
Although the government does not keep official statistics about the get-away methods criminals use following robberies, a recent study shows they have an overwhelming preference. It’s by motorcycle. Following a review of hundreds of robbery crime reports, Ecuador’s...
The director of Ecuador’s Monetary Regulation Policy Board says the government may turn over its electronic money system to a private company. "We are in talks with national and international financial companies about assuming management of the system,” says Patricio...
Negotiators for a trade agreement between Ecuador and the European Union say they are close to reaching a final deal but continue to discuss several key issues. Ecuador’s Foreign Trade Minister Diego Aulestia says he is confident that final details can be worked out...
President Rafael Correa said Tuesday that Ecuador will pursue tax evaders “to the last man” using data from the leaked “Panama Papers.” The documents, hacked from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in creating off-shore shell companies, contains thousands of names...
Guayaquil banker Guillermo Lasso says President Rafael Correa is “provoking anger” in the Ecuadorian people and is demanding that the package of tax increases sent to the National Assembly last week should be withdrawn immediately. Lasso, leader of the CREO political...
Among the thousands of names that appear in the ‘Panama Papers’, hacked records of secret offshore assets and business deals, are those Ecuador Attorney General, Galo Chiriboga, former Central Bank president and cousin of President Rafael Correa, Pedro Delgado, and...
The number of Chinese citizens entering Ecuador each year has doubled since 2011, with the South American country an increasingly popular destination for both tourism and business. Last year, 18,222 Chinese entered Ecuador, a stark increase from the 9,291 that arrived...
President Rafael Correa is defending the tax proposals he sent to the National Assembly last week, saying they will have minimal impact on the country’s poor. He made his comments during his weekly address to the nation on Saturday. “What poor person will leave the...
Business leaders, store owners and retires are reacting angrily to the government’s proposed tax increases. The National Assembly begins discussion on Monday of the tax package submitted Wednesday by President Rafael Correa. Called the Organic Law for the Balance of...
