City prepares for more Venezuelans; Gov’t wants tax discount repaid; Electricity subsidy for industry ends; Visit the giant hand in Turi; Cultural agenda

Lunes, 20/11/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Antología de poesía cuencana – The Dirección de Cultura municipal and the U. del Azuay are launching “Antología de la poesía cuencana vanguardista,” edited by the writer, María Augusta Vintimilla. The 232-page book can be downloaded in PDF from the web page of the Casa Editoria. <I have a feeling avant-garde poetry would not be what you’d want to read to practice your Spanish. I’m also wondering how much of a challenge it would be to your average Spanish teacher.>

Many Venezuelan refugees in Cuenca sell candy or beg on city streets. Local officials worry that Peru’s plan to expel thousands of refugees will result in a new influx. (El Mercurio)

Exposición de arpilleras:C IDAP (Exhibition of patchwork on burlap: CIDAP) – The exhibit, “Bordando: mujeres creando historias” (Embroidering: women creating stories), will be at CIDAP until 30/11. The patchwork scenes on burlap done by craftswomen in Chile show stories which denounce the actions of the dictatorship of Augusto PInochet.

Muestra de ilustraciones en CCE (Sample of illustrations at CCE) – Illustrations from a book by Michelle Illescas, “Antes de las cuatro” are on show in the library of the Casa de la Cultura until el 15/12. Free.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/11 (1 article):

Viva la adrenalina en ‘La mano morlaco’ (Experience the adrenaline at ‘La mano morlaco’) – There is a new tourist attraction in El Calvario, Turi Parish. It’s a hand, 6 meters long, and 2.5 meters wide, 2,800 m. above sea level and a good distance from the ground. You can climb a flight of 13 steps stand on the palm which has a tree of life in the middle. <And no guardrails to catch you if you stumble or back up too far for that perfect selfie. It may be adrenaline running in your veins, but it’s something stinkier running into your underwear. If I go, I’ll be the one crawling up the stairs to sit on the palm.>

The hand was made out of wrought iron by Segundo Gallegos who works on calle Las Herrerías in the El Vergel barrio. In the same area is Hugo’s restaurant and cafeteria and an area of crafts sales. There’s also an illuminated heart which can be used for photos with the city as the background. The hand was built by the Chimbo family as a tourist attraction since employment opportunities were non-existent. Admission $1.00, children under 10, free. Hours are from 9:00 daily and closing at 1:00 on jueves, viernes y sábado, and at 23:00 el domingo.

To get there, take an exit from the Circunvalación Sur in the sector of the pedeTstrian overpass Guzho and follow the vía a El Calvario for 2.9 km. until you reach a gravel road which you take for another 300 meters. Follow the homemade signs.

Titular –

A devolver rebaja predial (To return property tax rebate) – The Comptroller’s office of Ecuador issued a report ordering the municipality to collect discounts from taxpayers who paid property taxes early. This was reported by Mayor Zamora after a special Cantonal Council meeting. He said that this would apply to discounts received after 2018 and would affect about 300,000 citizens. The City used discounts to encourage people to pay their property taxes early. If you paid your property taxes in enero, you’d get a discount of 10% or 9% which was gradually reduced to 2% & 1% for payments made in junio. The Contraloría indicated that these amounts should be returned to the government immediately. The amount to be collected is $2,137,337.88 for urban properties and $154,192.18 for rural properties.

The mayor asked what would happen with the heirs if a person died or if a property was sold or subdivided. He said he would consult with the Contraloría for clarification. <So, you rushed down to the bursar’s office and paid early to get a discount and now you’ve got to give 6 years back? Going to be a lot of unhappy Cuencanos, and all the procrastinators are thankful they delayed payment until the last minute. Plus, they could have been earning interest on that money.> .77% of the residences in Cuenca have a valuation of $750,000 or more. 80% are valued between $0 and $120,000 according to municipal data. Municipal Finance Department statistics show 148,806 homes in the canton.

Cuenca –
De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/11 (1 article):

Hay un plan ante eventual llegada de venezolanos (There is a plan for the eventual arrival of Venezuelans) – The City of Cuenca is getting a plan ready in case Venezuelan citizens who leave voluntarily or are expelled from Perú arrive in Cuenca. On the 14/11, Perú implemented a policy that foreigners in an irregular migratory situation or who are involved in criminal acts can be removed from the country in 48 hours. On 10/1, the period in which migrants could apply for a Temporary Permit to Remain ended. Carolina Martínez, director of the city’s Desarrollo Social said that group is working with 5 other refugee and migratory organizations and has formed the Grupo de Trabajo para Refugiados y Migrantes (GTRM – Working Group for Refugees and Migrants). She said the plan will provide assistance but doesn’t have the capacity to supply housing for the 6,000 possible arrivals. She said no city in Ecuador is prepared to acoger (host – your word for the day) a large number of Venezuelans.

She said that through the Casa del Migrante, foreigners will be provided legal advice and those medical treatment will be taken to health centers. The GRTM will coordinate giving out food tickets. There will be training to make products that can be sold in stores and ferias. The group will also provide support for schooling children and teens. The Posada San Francisco is the only place that offers housing to indigents and foreigners but only or a maximum of 5 days, with a capacity to house a maximum of 20 families. Lunches and suppers will be given first to priority groups — pregnant women, families with children, seniors and disabled who will be served first. After the first sitting, if there’s food left, it will be given out until it’s gone.

It is estimated that 500,000 Venezolanos live in Ecuador, including an estimated 25,000 in Cuenca, most of whom are not regularized. Ecuador and Colombia have asked Perú, that if it is going to deport people, it does it by airplane direct to their destinations. According to the Agencia de la ONU para los Refugiados, more than 1.5 million Venezuelans have arrived in Perú.

Nacional –
De El Mercurio del sábado, 18/11 (1 article):

Retiran subsidio eléctrico para el sector industrial (Electricity subsidy for industrial sector withdrawn) – A 17/11 memo from the Ministro de Energia, Fernando Santos Alvite, ordered Patricio Bonilla, director of the Agencia de Control de Energía y Recursos Naturales no Renovables to proceed with the elimination of the tariff incentive applied to electrical usage by the industrial sector. This incentive was created the Government of Lenin Moreno to incentivize industry to create employment. The memo ratified the maintenance of residential subsidies called the Tarifa de la Dignidad which mainly benefits seniors. <So those of you over 65 can breathe a sign of relief. You get to keep the low rates. At least for now.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). If information is incorrect, it is the responsibility of El Mercurio. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.