City adds 400 police officers; Mayor lists his early achievements; Inti Raymi honors corn at Cojitambo; Ecuadorian sets weight-lifting world records

Sábado – 17/6/2023

Hola, Todos –

Sorry, all – I wrote this last night (viernes) and am pretty sure I sent it. But I think it went to wherever it is that the one stray sock in a weeks worth of washing goes to keep company with all the missing clothes hangers.

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 15/6/2023 (1 article):
22 comunidades se suman a Festival de Maíz: Cojitambo (22 communities join the Corn Festival: Cojitambo) – The 17th Edition of the Festival de Maíz which celebrates Inti Raymi, will be held in the archeological ruins in Cojitambo, Azogues canton, this coming 23-25/6. 22 communities and delegations from other sectors will participate. Following is the festival schedule:
Viernes – 23/6 –
8:00 – a walk.
9:00 – dance performances.
10:00 – ancestral rituals.
Sábado – 24/6 –

In the first 4 months of this year, ANT registered 736 deaths and 5,891 injuries in the country. This equivalent of 6 deaths per day is the most since 2019. Accidents were also up in Cuenca. (El Mercurio)

9:00 – a seed exchange with the support of the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG). <I should bring all the collard green seeds from last season. Who wouldn’t like a vegetable that grows like a weed, tastes good, and is nutritious? I guess anyone committed to the SAD diet who never met a green food they could stomach.>
10:00 – interparish dance festival with 26 rural locations in Cañar participating.
19:00 – election of the Cholita del Maíz amenizado (livened up – your word for the day) with musical groups.
Domingo – 25/6 –
12:00 – at the archeological ruins – cultural events by the 22 communities of Cojitambo with an artistic show.

Titular –

De El Mercurio del viernes – 16/6 (1 article):
6 muertes diarias por accidentes en el país (6 deaths per day in the country due to accidents) – In the first 4 months of this year, ANT registered 736 deaths and 5,891 injuries in the country. This equivalent of 6 deaths per day is the most since 2019. The main causes of accidents are driving while distracted (23%) <Put on your make up, eat your breakfast, and make your calls before you start driving. Fine if you want to risk your own life but shame on you if you kill someone else.>, not respecting traffic signals (19%), speeding (16%), and other causes (42%). In Cuenca, 262 accidents were registered with 269 injuries and 15 fatalities <Who did the math on those statistics?> making it the city with the 5th most accidents on a national scale.

According to Sofía Gordón, a representative of the Coalición por la Movilidad Segura, this is the highest number in the last 5 years. She felt speed is main factor for risk since it is also associated with other dangerous behaviors such as passing in risky areas <such as on those blind curves in the Cajas>, not maintaining a safe distance <therefore your 10 car pile-ups>, not respecting traffic signals and lights <which is how you wind up hung up on the front end of a Tranvía train>, and making abrupt lane changes <how you wind up glued to the side of a dump truck>. She referred to a study by the Organización Panamericana de la Salud which found that an increase of 5% in velocity led to an increase of about 20% in the number of accidents with fatalities.

Cuenca –
De El Mercurio del viernes – 16/6 (2 articles):

400 policías se integran a la seguridad del Azuay (400 police officers join Azuay security force) – The Azuay Police Command assigned 400 recently graduated cops to the province. They will be distributed in different districts after passing administrative and human talent themes. Once they’ve been integrated into the force, they will receive general instruction on geographic and demographic issues, tourism and culture in the province, and a public safety assessment. <I wonder how much of a difference 400 new cops in the whole province is going to make? Maybe less than angry neighborhood groups armed with hortiga.>

Zamora destaca logros en su primer mes en Alcaldía (Zamora highlights achievements in his first month in Mayor’s Office) – Mayor Cristian Zamora has completed one month in charge after taking office el 15/5. In his first 8 days, he appointed all of the managers for the city businesses and departmental directors. He also made his first trip abroad as a mayor to Rome and Paris by invitation from the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF). He visited the Pope and presented him with a replica of the Niño Viajero. <Kind of weird if you look at it this way: one grown man gifting another grown man with a doll.> Zamora said that in the first month the city has been visited by high level representatives of almost all of the credit organisms, one of which was DAF. The Mayor presented the creditors a portfolio of projects that need $150 million in financing. The Municipality also conducted 3 sorteos (raffles? – or competitions) to select civil engineers for road construction; and it published studies for 3 hospitals in El Valle, Ricaurte, y Baños. <So does Zamora want his signature projects to be in health care and hospitals?>

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 15/6/2023 (1 article):
Precio del arroz sube; alertan especulación (Rice prices rise; speculation warned) – The price of a quintal (100 kg.) of rice has risen from $32 to $60 in barely 2 weeks. Sellers argue that there is a shortage due to damage to the crop from the rainy season, but rice producers deny this and say it’s “pura especulación” (pure speculation). Control operations have been started with warnings about sanctions for those who hide the product. Javier Ronquillo, president of the Corporación Nacional de Organizaciones de Productores Arroceros, said that overpriced rice is due to speculation and unfounded rumors about the arrival of El Niño. This has caused people to buy excess rice even though there is no shortage in the market. Ronquillo conceded that the rains have damaged crops, but 5 million quintales have been harvested and that amount will cover national demand for 4.5 months. He said that right now, producers are harvesting while others are preparing the soil and planting, all of which means that there is no shortage even with the arrival of El Niño.

There were controls in Guayas on miércoles in the markets and processing plants which were inexplicably empty, probably because of the warning against speculation. Anyone who speculates on the price of basic necessities can be imprisoned for 15-30 days. <Can you imagine how many crooks in the US food chain would be in jail? I’ve been reading that they’ve been overcharging for groceries to pad their profits and increasing payments to management and shareholders just because they can. Maybe time in jail would help curb that behaviour. But as someone said, maybe a lot of portraits of Grant judiciously distributed would let them evade jail time.> Eduardo Izaguirre, Ministro de Agricultura, said if the high rice prices continue and a scarcity actually comes about, the Government will authorize importing the product to guarantee the supply.

Deportes –

De El Mercurio del viernes – 16/6 (1 article):
Ecuador tiene 4 récords mundiales (Ecuador holds 4 world records) – Ecuador has 4 world records in weight lifting, all held by women. Angie Palacios is the only Ecuatoriana with a world record in weight lifting, senior category (division?). She won in arranque (start?) in the II Grand Prix in la Habana, Cuba <Some kind of lift, I guess. This is why I don’t usually translate sports. I don’t have anyone who can translate sports words from English to English for me.> with 121 kg., beating the previous record of 120 kg set a month ago in the Campeonato Asiático (Asian Championships). <I’m guessing she could easily lift me, or two of me, and just as easily throw me/us across the room.> She also broke the previous Panamerican record of 139 kg. in envión (lunge?) by lifting 140 kg. for a combined weight of 261.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne