Industries meet with government officials, demand end to blackouts; Judge gives the go-ahead for Metastasis trials; IESS hospital union boss appeals

Representatives of business organizations met with Energy Ministry officials Monday night to demand a reconsideration of the 10-hour blackouts applied to the country’s industrial sector. María Paz Jervis, president of the Ecuador Chamber of Industries, said the groups are asking for an immediate end to the blackouts while an emergency committee considers alternative electricity saving strategies.

Following the meeting, Energy Minister Antonio Goncalves was noncommittal, saying only that the blackout schedule from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. will remain in effect for 15 days while talks continue.

Miguel Ángel González, president of the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce and María Paz Jervis, president of Ecuador Chamber of Industries at a Monday news conference.

During the day Monday, dozens of business representatives predicted dire consequences as a result of the power interruptions.

“The country faces severe shortages of basic products if this order is not lifted immediately,” Jervis said. “This draconian decision was made without consultation with the industries it affects. It is a bucket of cold water on the entire productive sector of Ecuador. It has paralyzed the work of 130 companies.”

Among groups lodging complaints were exporters, the dairy industry and the chambers of commerce in Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil.

According to the Energy Ministry, industries consume 26% of the country’s power.

On Saturday, Goncalves, said it was not fair that the residential and small business sectors of the country bear the entire burden of electric rationing, adding that industry must “share the sacrifice.”

Judge gives go-ahead for Metastasis case trials
National Court Judge Manuel Cabrera announced Monday that trials for most of the defendants in the Metastasis corruption case can begin. Among those charged are Wilman Terán, former president of the Council of the Judiciary, and Ronny Aleaga, former National Assemblyman.

Cabrera dismissed charges of three of the original 52 defendants, claiming prosecutors did not provide sufficient evidence against them. Twelve others have already received reduced sentences following plea deals based on cooperation with the prosecution.

All those going to trial, including judges, attorneys and police officers, are accused of involvement with drug trafficker Leandro Norero, alias El Patrón, for “protective activities” for drug gang members. Norero, who was murdered during a Quito prison riot in 2022, was accused by prosecutors of having a “vast influence over members of judiciary, law enforcement and elected officials,” allegedly paying out millions of dollars in bribes over a two-year period.

Terán, a top government and judicial official for more than 12 years, is accused of accepting bribes in return for reducing or eliminating prison sentences for at least a dozen drug gang members. Judge Cabrera dismissed claims of innocence by Terán’s attorneys, saying there was “very strong evidence” of corruption in his dealings with Norero.

Cabrera also rejected pleas for dismissal from Aleaga’s attorneys who claimed that evidence against the former Citizens Revolution Assemblyman was illegally collected. In addition to charges that Aleaga used his elected office to assist drug traffickers, the judge said there was “compelling information” linking him to the assassination of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

IESS hospital union boss appeals dismissal
Rosa Argudo, president of the Union Social Security Institute (IESS) workers has filed a legal appeal of her firing from the José Carrasco Hospital in Cuenca. She was dismissed September 28 based on variety of charges, including nepotism, contract manipulation and illicit personal enrichment.

Argudo claims she was dismissed before the claims against her were proven. “The action by the hospital administration violates all standards of due process, since there were no hearings of the supposed irregularities before I was terminated,” she said. “The termination is ineffective because of this.”

Sofía Sánchez, one of five National Assembly members who investigated Argudo’s actions, agreed that Argudo’s firing may have been premature. “The employment question is part of a judicial decision that has not yet been resolved,” she said. “There must be a process that examines the charges before a final determination is made.”

Argudo’s attorney claims there is confusion over her employment at the hospital and her role as union president. “Her union activities bear no relation to her job at the hospital and cannot be considered in her work at the institution,” he said.