Half a million students not in virtual classes; City plans 16k paved roads, more parks; Voto 2021; ‘House of Seeds’ preserves, cultivates indigenous crops

Sábado, 16/1/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Vanegas y Hermida a II vuelta (2nd round for Vanegas y Hermida) – Elections for rector of the U. of Cuenca will go to a 2nd round of voting between Pablo Vanegas and María Augusta Hermida on el 27/1.

90,000 estudiantes dejaron la escuela (90,000 students left school) – Research by Unicef indicated 480,000 students in Ecuador did not receive classes in spite of teaching via various channels: internet, radio and TV. 90,000 have dropped out completely leaving them exposed to child labor, begging, sexual exploitation and illegal activities. Unicef estimated that 78% of public school students had access to internet, but only 2 out 10 had their own equipment.

The Casa de Semillas in Miraflores is building a seed bank for native vegetables and grasses from Azuay Province.

16 millones en obras viales (16 million in road works) – The city will invest $16 million on 16 km. of road paving in 2021. It will also repave 50 km. of artery and collector roads, and maintain 300 km. of gravel and dirt roads. The municipality will also hold mingas for road maintenance in rural ares starting in Chiquintad and Sinincay. It is also planning 14 km. of bike lanes from De Las Americas and Loja to av. España and along av. 27 de Febrero, av. Pumapungo and next to the río Machángara. 5 new parks will also be built: Los Conquistadores, Nuestra Casa, Los Eucaliptos on Ordóñez Lasso, Fray Jodoco, and the parque lineal Riveras de Yanuncay.

“Casa de semillas” con 150 variedades (“House of seeds” with 150 varieties) – The Asociación de Productores Agroecológicos (APA) opened the first “Casa de Semillas” yesterday in their offices in Miraflores. Members of the association brought various seeds native to cantons including Cuenca, Nabón, Girón, Santa Isabel and others. Seeds included grasses, grains, legumes, potatoes, vegetables and other products from the Sierra. These seeds will be cultivated and the association hopes to double the number in the bank next year. <Our own mini Svalbard Global Seed Vault>

Azuay, entre provincias que tendrá la vacuna (Azuay, among the provinces that will have the vaccine) – The first block of 86,000 doses of vaccines from Pfizer will gradually arrive starting el próximo lunes at a preferential price, oscillating between $15 and $25 per dose. The country has secured 2 million doses from Pfizer and is negotiating for another 2 million. Health minister, Juan Carlos Zevallos said the distribution will be in Pichincha, Guayas, Azuay y Cañar first. The pilot plan will first vaccinate doctors, health workers, nursing assistants, nurses, workers who clean contaminated material and patients receiving respiratory therapy. The other population in this first group will be senior center residents and employeees and people with disabilities. The plan included training by Pfizer to keep the vaccine frozen and a simulation of the transport routes to the vaccination locations. The Difare pharmacy company is in charge of getting the vaccines to the locations.

Voto 2021 –

CREO busca giro a imagen legislativa (CREO seeks change to legislative image) – CREO, list 21, named its candidates to the Asamblea Nacional before the agreement between Guillermo Lasso and Jaime Nebot. The candidates are José Jara who is the provincial director for CREO and is an entrepreneur who studied bank administration. Bernarda Ordóñez is an activist for feminism who received a promise before she ran that CREO would respect her pro-rights position in spite of the rightist ideology of the party leader Lasso, and is a former advisor to the Asamblea Nacional. Other candidates are David Arízaga who is the youth candidate, and Katy Andrade and Juan Álvarez who are professionals and active in the party.

CREO supports the referendum promoted by Jaime Nebot (11 questions on a variety of subjects) and registered “Sí” on the mining referendum in Cuenca. Their proposals include promoting employment by simplifying paperwork and flexible credit for entrepreneurs. It wants to strengthen tourism; increase internet coverage and reduce its costs; promote agriculture, industry, and development of technology. It would regulate salaries of complementary sectors including for security guards who work for contract services and receive less than minimum wage. <Does it make you feel safer that the guy in the bank with a gun is earning less than minimum wage and might not have gotten past 8th grade?> CREO also wants to improve Government transparency and create regulations needed for effective and overwhelming justice for public officials who commit acts of corruption.

And that’s all for today so hasta el lunes –

Jeanne