Court will consider challenges to VAT hike; Three volcanoes remain active; Why the internet can’t cope with blackouts; Referendum results are official

Domingo, 5/5/2024

Hola, Todos –

I will be on vacation next week and back on lunes, el 13/5.

Actualidad –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 4/3 (1 article):
3 volcanes con actividad moderada y alta (3 volcanoes with moderate & high activity) – The Instituto Geofísico reported that the Sangay, La Cumbre on Fernandina Island and Reventador volcanos have moderate to high levels of activity. Sangay, the southernmost is continuing with high activity and in the last day there were 486 minor explosions. Emissions of gas and ash in the form of clouds have reached between 300-1700 meters above the peak and are being carried to the west and southwest by the wind.

The La Cumbre volcano continues erupting on Fernandina Island in the Galápagos.

La Cumbre in the Galápagos started erupting last marzo with lava flowing towards the sea. Activity is considered moderate. El Reventador, on a branch of the Andes in the Napo Province, has been permanently and uninterruptedly active for several years. In the last 24 hours there have been 75 explosions and 5 small earthquakes produced by the movement of fluids in the inside of the mountain. <I guess it gets dangerous when those fluids start shooting or flowing out of the mountain.>

Nacional –

Sin luz, operadores de internet resisten 3 horas de servicio (Without power, internet operators resist 3 hours of service) <Does that headline make sense? Is it trying to say that operators are resisting 3 hours without electricity?>- Along with power outages, Ecuadorians have had to deal with loss of other services such as internet. The question that comes up is “Why is there no internet in my phone when it’s charged and I have mobile data?” Patricia Falconí, director of the Asociación de Empresas de Telecomunicaciones (Asetel) said that unfortunately, internet providers also depend on electricity and the efforts they have made to extend the time that subscribers have mobile internet can’t function in the long term.

The 3 service providers, Claro, Movistar y DNE, have alternate energy sources including generators and batteries in their radio-bases. Battery time is maximum 3 hours and not the 9 hours the shutoffs have been lasting. Even though the batteries last 3 hours, when the power is out, people go from their fixed internet devices to their mobile devices which depletes the batteries faster. According to users of social networks, after an hour and half without electricity the internet on phones starts to fail or becomes intermittent. Only WhatsApp allows sending messages, but these are slow arriving.

In addition, once the batteries have been discharged, they need between 8 and 10 hours to recharge. Internet providers have asked the Government to avoid extended blackouts and especially those done in two blocks of time. The time between the outages is not enough to recharge their equipment. Another complaint is that once the power comes back on, the internet is still intermittent and slow. Javier Muñoz, a telecommunications expert explained that Wi-Fi used in homes and offices usually is in 2 frequencies, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The 2nd is faster, but in normal situations, is also slower to reconnect once the power is back to the router. <I think I translated that correctly, but what do I know. I have the next to cheapest and slowest connection and don’t notice when things are slow. I’m still slower than whatever connection I have.>

De El Mercurio del sábado, 4/3 (3 articles):

Demanda contra el alza del IVA admite la Corte (Lawsuit against VAT hike admitted by Court) – The Corte Constitucional admitted the lawsuit presented by the Cámara de Comercio de Guayaquil for processing. The claim is against the unconstitutionality of the Ley de Conflicto Armado Interno which included the increase of the IVA to 15% and the imposition of additional contributions from banks, cooperativas, and businesses. The Chamber argued that the law created taxes without observing the principles and limits enshrined in the Constitution. The Court has received 9 unconstitutionality claims against the law and this is the first admitted to the process be analyzed by the judges.

CNE aprueba los resulatados de la consulta y referéndum (CNE approves consultation and referendum results) – Once all of the elections packets have been returned from abroad, the full Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) will scrutinize and approve the numerical results. After approval, there will be a 3 day period in which political and social organizations can file appeals to the CNE or the Tribunal Contencioso Electoral. If there are no claims, the definitive results will be announced. <This feels like how an election should be run. Each citizen is obligated to vote and who or whatever wins the popular vote, wins. None of this electoral college mess. And no attacks on the legislative branch or attempts to lynch a vice-president for doing his constitutional duty.>

Elevan frecuencias aéreas entre Ecuador y Argentina (More flights between Ecuador and Argentina) – After 18 years, Ecuador and Argentina have modified the “Anexo 1, Cuadro de Rutas” (Annex 1, Table of Routes) of the Air Services Agreement. This will allow freeing the limit on frequencies and expand the rights of air traffic for passengers, cargo and mail in combined form, and for exclusively cargo services. The subsecretaries of Air Transport of Ecuador and Argentine signed the act eliminating restrictions in air transport between the two countries. The number of flights can go from 7 <per day? per week?> to an unlimited number. Airlines operating in Ecuador that are interested in flying to Argentina now have the flexibility to do so. <Buenos Aires, here I come!>

Descuentos y compras –

ProAudio – Hearing aids, buy one, get the 2nd one 50% off, totally invisible <So if you take them out at night, how do find them in the morning?> – 3 year guarantee, free audiometrics hearing test – Federico Proaño y Honorato Loyola, 093 967 8789 or 07 281 0548 and Paucaramba S/N y los Alisos, 09 2455 916.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne