Drought hits 100 day mark; Noboa tells the UN he receives daily death threats; Cuenca ‘basic’ living cost is $556; Local power generation is boosted

Viernes, 8/12/2023

Hola, Todos –

Titular –

Histórica sequía hidrológica (Historic hydrological drought) – Cuenca has completed 100 days of drought with river flows at unprecedented lows. The rivers with their normal and current flows (in cubic meters per second) follows: Tomebamba – 6.5/1.01, Yanuncay – 6.0/1.43, Tarqui – 3.5/1.03, and Machángara – 4.5/3.79. The Machángara has a regulated flow. ETAPA is calling for water users to be conscious of their usage and consume water responsibly. <You can complain all you want about “other” people who are washing their cars and patios, but what are you, personally, doing to conserve water? I turned the water off while I brushed my teeth last Wednesday morning won’t cut it.>

Cuenca –

The Ecuador Institute of Statistics and Census says the minimum monthly living cost for a family of four is $556.47 in Cuenca.

Cuenca, la cuarta ciudad con la canasta más cara (Cuenca, the fourth city most expensive city for the vital basket of goods) – The canasta familiar vital (vital family basket) is most costly in Manta <where buying kevlar vests for the family keeps the costs up> at $603.20, followed by Quito with $575.72, Guayaquil with $572.66, and Cuenca in 4th place with $556.47. The same report from INEC (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos) places Cuenca 2nd in the canasta familiar básica (basic family basket) with $815.91, exceeded only by Quito with $819.37. Both basic and vital family baskets are the essential goods and services to satisfy the basic needs of a typical household with 4 members. <Is the vital basket a diet of beans, rice, and mote while the basic basket adds a little chicken once in a while?>

Charla con residentes (Talk with residents) – <This talk already happened but if you didn’t go, <and if it applies, the topic should concern you and merit more research on your part.> Representatives from the MInisterio of Turismo conducted talks aimed at the North American community living in Cuenca. The objective was to make known the regulations for tourist accommodations in residential properties in the city. <As in, are you renting out property you own on AirBnB informally (illegally?) without getting a business license and declaring the income?>

El 13 y 14 de diciembre serán de descuentos en Etafashion (December 13 and 14 will be a discount period at Etafashion) – <This is really an ad disguised as a news article.> Etafashion is offering discounts on clothing during diciembre. On the 13 & 14, there will be a 20% discount on fashion/home if you pay with Crédito Directo Planeta. On el 16/12, “Despertón” will run from 8-15:00 with products discounted as much as 50%. “Transnochón” will see discounts of up to 50% between 14-22:00. <No date given.) You can also go to their website, etafasion.com.

Sucesos –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 7/12 (1 article):
Implicado en accidente de bus tenía 2 puntos en licencia (Driver involved in bus accident had 2 points on his license) – After investigation into the bus accident at km. 94 on the vía Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme that left 6 dead and 14 injured, ANT showed the driver only had 2 points left on his license. ANT issues driver’s licenses with 30 points, which can be taken away with fines or sanctions for traffic infractions. <Why did the bus company hire him, and if he lost 28 points while he was driving buses, why didn’t they fire him? Boss’s worthless nephew?> Bus number 10 of the Empresa de Transporte Emtrocc Occidental line left Cuenca with cantón Camilo Ponce Enríquez as its destination.

A review of the registers verified that large tires were loaded into the luggage compartment of the bus, possibly overloading it. The bus had passed its technical review el 4/10/2023. Authorities confirmed that the driver fled after the crash. <He’s probably in Perú by now.> The investigations into the cause of the accident are being conducted by the Comisión de Tránsito del Ecuador (CTE).

Region –

Potencian la generación de energía para el Austro (Power generation for the Austro region is boosted) – The Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC EP) is strengthening electrical service for Azuay and the South of the country with improvements to electrical generation equipment. At a substation in Cuenca, the power transformation capacity was increased to a total of 250 megavolt-amperes. <Some other incomprehensible electrical thing was done somewhere else.>
CELEC SUR is also repairing an axle of the turbine in the #2 generation unit at the Central Hidroeléctrica Sopladora on the Rio Paute. The work should be done by the end of the month. The availability of this unit will be restored with an approximate restricted power of 120 megawatts.

Nacional –

Ante ONU, Noboa dice que recibe amenazas de muerte (Before UN, Noboa said he received death threats) – Ecuador has the presidency of the UN Security Council in diciembre, and Pres. Noboa put into debate the revival of a proposal France presented 14 years ago which would qualify transnational organized crime as a threat to international peace and security. Pres. Noboa said that transnational crime merited a transnational response and therefore one of the priorities of his Government is to support international cooperation, and to deploy all forces necessary at Ecuador’s border zones and interior to confront all forms of violence.

He talked about how this type of crime has affected Ecuador which for a long time, has been considered a peaceful country. Noboa’s speech was supported by UN secretary, Antonio Guterres who said that since criminal groups do not understand borders, the response in fighting them should also be global through international cooperation. <What a messed up world – transnational corporations picking everyone’s pockets down to the last penny, and transnational criminals stealing our peace. Or are they just two sides of the same coin?>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne