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A court in Ecuador convicted six police officers on Friday of attempting to assassinate President Rafael Correa during a 2010 rebellion that left 10 people dead and 274 wounded. During the police mutiny, which erupted over bonus cuts, protesting officers besieged...
There’s good news for Ecuador air travelers. With the opening of a new four-lane highway, the drive time from Quito to the new Mariscal Sucre Airport at Tababela has been cut almost in half. A poll of drivers taking the new Collas-Tababela route say it took between 36...
Ecuador's 2013 communications law should be used as a basis for the rest of the region, as it would "strengthen democracy, solidarity, culture and identity," says national assembly member Octavio Villacreces. The communication law, pushed by President Rafael Correa,...
By Nathan Gill Ecuador’s National Assembly approved a new law today that allows the government to create its own parallel currency for use in local transactions as the government struggles to meet spending commitments. Congress voted 91-22 to approve President...
After announcing that it would begin charging a $42 tax on small packages shipped from overseas, the government is sending mixed messages about exemptions of the tax. The tax would affect shipments of less than four kilos, part of the country's 4x4 package plan (four...
By Ramiro Crespo A year after Ecuador passed its controversial media law, the Ley Orgánica de Comunicación (LOC), most of the fears that it provoked as a potential instrument of repression have come true. Freedom House, a U.S. non-governmental organization that...
By Jim Wyss It’s the year 2043 and this burgeoning city of 100,000 is a high-tech Mecca. Using rare plants from the Amazon, university researchers have cured many diseases; factories churn out nano-sponges that soak up oil spills around the world; local software...
Acknowledging consumer confusion, the government is stepping up its campagin to encourage Ecuadorians to switch from gas to electric cooktops. The Ministry of Energy is posting graphics on its website showing the energy savings of cooking with electricity instead of...
By Emma Weissmann For the Kichwa people of the Ecuadorian Amazon, teatime isn't an afternoon tradition that pairs dainty finger sandwiches with porcelain cups. Instead, it begins at 3 a.m., when members of this indigenous community gather around a fire and brew...
Banana exports top 100 million boxes for first time According to a report from Ecuador’s Association of Banana Exporters, the country exported a record of 102,799,334 boxes of bananas in 2013. In 2012, 93,728,011 boxes were exported. The association says...
Ecuador’s government says new banking regulation legislation is necessary to insure that the country does not suffer another banking crisis like the one that crippled the country in 1990 and 2000. Ecuador’s Minister for Economic Policy, Patricio Rivera, adds that lack...
A former Florida resident and Quito expat admitted in Orlando federal court Wednesday that he operated a prostitution business in Ecuador and coordinated "tours" for Americans to have sex with girls. Federal agents in Central Florida began investigating Patrick Minga...
Despite putting up a heroic fight, Ecuador was eliminated from World Cup play Wednesday in a 0 – 0 draw with France. Ecuador needed a victory or tie from Honduras in its game with Switzerland to advance but didn’t get it, as the Swiss won 3-0. Ecuador put up a...
In a surprise to some analysts, Ecuador sold $2 billion worth of 10-year bonds last Tuesday, marking a return to international capital markets after defaulting in 2008. The deal came on the heels of Kenya's first-ever international-bond sale, which attracted $8...
President Rafael Correa has announced a new service to allow Ecuadorians to report inefficiency in government offices and as well as what he called "absurd formalities." “We talk about the good life in Ecuador but part of this is to make government services friendlier...
Ecuador’s National Assembly is beginning discussion of amendments to the constitution that would eliminate presidential term limits and lower the age requirement for seeking the presidency from 35 to 32. The drive for the change of term limits was the result of April...
Editor’s note: To support a proposal that the Inca Trail be granted UNESCO World Heritage status, members of Cuenca’s city government walked 20 kilometers of the 600-year-old road network on Saturday morning. The trail, called Qhapac Nan by the Incas, is also known at...
Manabi Province gets most of poor payments Coastal Manibi Province is the country’s poorest province based on the number of people who receive poverty payments. The payments of $50 a month, started in 1998, go only to citizens in severe need. In Manabi, which includes...
Ecuador is preparing to return to the bond market for the first time since the country defaulted in 2008, taking advantage of robust demand for emerging-market debt in a low-yielding world. The country, whose debt is rated Caa1 by Moody's Investors Service...
After nine years of research, scientists have confirmed that a snake found in the Cajas National Park west of Cuenca is indeed a new species. The non-venomous snake, which can grow to five feet in length, is called Philodryas Amaru. The discovery in 2005 was...
