Development loan will fund infrastructure projects; Nat’l Assembly ends term with 2% approval rating; Cuencano disappears near U.S.-Mexican border

Miércoles, 12/5/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada.

Otras cosas –

Titular – A 5 ejes destinarán crédito CAF (CAF credit will be allocated to 5 areas) – The Concejo Cantonal approved a new debt from the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF) in the amount of $48 million to be used for 5 types of projects. The work includes street work, construction of a new wholesale market, building an additional market in the north zone of the city, improving the runway at the airport, and building new parks in Bella Unión, Medio Ejido, and Alisos del Cebollar. The loan will have a repayment term of 15 years including a grace period of 36 months with 21 consecutive semester installments. Payments will be made with the Cobro de las Contribuciones de Mejoras (Collection of Improvement Contributions). <Does that mean property taxes will go up?>

Dozens of stores owned by Grupo Eljuri were closed Tuesday in Cuenca in honor of Juan Eljuri, who died on Monday.

Panificadores observan que precio de al menos seis ingredientes subió (Bakers note that the price of at least six ingredients went up) – See the 11/5 article in CHL for the story. Meanwhile, here are some bread trivia statistics. Until 2011, the Gobierno Nacional regulated the price of bread after which the price was subject to supply and demand. 85% of the wheat used in Ecuador is imported. On average, one person consumes 26-27 kilos of bread each year. The panadería sector generates 22,000 jobs at a national level.

Ya cumplen vacunación para grupos vulnerables (Vaccination for vulnerable groups being done) – Starting this week, people with catastrophic illnesses will be vaccinated at the colegio Manuela Garaicoa. To get an appointment, a family member needs to go to the school with the patient’s cedula and a medical certificate given by a public entity that that demonstrates the veracity of the condition <Like a doctor’s note that got you out of gym classes?> This will cover patients with diabetes, cáncer, HIV, and tuberculosis. Patients being treated at SOLCA can also register at SOLCA. The colegio is also vaccinating people with disabilities and front line personnel.

Juan Eljuri, el empresario esencial (Juan Eljuri, the essential businessman) – Juan Eljuri Antón led an economic group that encompasses more than 100 businesses in Ecuador with thousands of employees, including between 18,000 and 25,000 in Cuenca alone. Eljuri stores were closed yesterday to remember one of the most important people in the city and country. <I underestimated the bonanza to the newspapers. Today’s El Mercurio, which has had 2 sections during the pandemic, expanded to 6 sections including 3 extra Mortuorio sections and most of sections B & C devoted to condolences. There were also a lot of full page condolence announcements.>

Cuencano extraviado en frontera de EE.UU. (Cuencano lost on the US border) – Henry Patricio Guzmán Ramos from Victoria del Portete parish in Cuenca, is considered lost on the border between Mexico and the US. <This will put a face on that mass of anonymous faces trying to get to the US.> The last time he was heard from was in septiembre of 2020 when he said he crossed from Caborca in Sonora, Mexico going towards Arizona in a desert area. The coyote told the family that Henry was tired, he fell asleep and disappeared. <More likely the coyote disappeared.> The family cannot confirm this because the trafficker is not answering the phone. This is similar to how other people have disappeared.

The journey starts with a flight to México for “vacation” purposes and then continues to the border where the traveller contracts with a coyote or meets the coyote contracted with while in Ecuador in order to cross the border. There is nothing certain about this part of the journey which can end in the US, with disappearance, or with death. Henry’s family has called his phone, but an unknown person answered and said that Henry’s life was in danger. The family thinks he was sequestered since they recuperated photos from a phone in a house where he was waiting to cross the border. It showed men with high caliber weapons at the doors.

Asambleístas se despiden con el 2% de aceptación (Assembly members say goodbye with 2% acceptance) – The terms of the current Asamblea Nacional will expire in a few hours, and according to polls, the asambleístas will leave with a 2% approval rating. Reasons for this include complaints against legislators for crimes, pay-to-work money demanded from their staff, delays in passing laws and audits, and wasting time on trivial matters. <I wonder how much digging you’d have to do to expose similar problems in the US legislative branch? Would an ordinary table spoon do the job or would you need to rent a backhoe?> There are 54 legislators facing criminal proceedings for different crimes.

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). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.