Informal sales cost local economy millions; New mayor presents his staff; Motorcyclists told: ‘Respect the law!’; Cheap little cars; Cojitambo ruins

Miércoles, 10/5/2023

Hola, Todos –

My apologies for not sending out an issue on Monday. I wrote it, proofed it, and then had a gray matter malfunction and probably hit delete instead of send. After that I was too tired to try rewrite it.

Titular –

Zamora hace público su equipo de trabajo (Zamora announces his work team) – Mayor Elect Cristian Zamora presented his list for the 25 departmental directors, 4 general coordinators, 31 coordinators, and 21 managers in charge of the head offices before he takes office el domingo, 14/5. What is new is that he has invited the public to escrutar (scrutinize – our word for the day) his appointees by reviewing their resumes on-line. After review, a citizen can appeal the nomination, but the mayor asks that this be done based on their public qualifications and not personal issues. You can see the resumes at impugnaciones.alcaldiacuenatthh.com.ec/ and make comments to the email impugdocumentalcaldia@gmail.com. His list is divided evenly between men and women.

Cuenca –

The Cojitambo Inca ruins between Azogues and Cuenca are a protected site, part of the Qhapac Ñan (Camino del Inca (Inca Trail), a UNESCO World Heritage site. (El Mercurio)

Campaña para prevenir los accidentes en moto (Campaign to prevent motorcycle accidents) – EMOV (Empresa de Movilidad) started a campaign to raise the awareness of motorcycle drivers since there are over 300 motorcycle accidents in Cuenca each year due to reckless or negligent driving. The campaign is called, ‘Este NO es un carril’ (This is NOT a lane) and seeks to keep motorcyclists from riding on the double yellow line and respecting traffic signals. Most of the mishaps occur when the minimum of 3 meters of distance between motos and cars are not observed. Some taxis have been fitted with fixed and folding signs to warn motos to respect signals and that ‘Este NO es un carril.’ <How would you react, if you were passing a taxi on the right in the 24″ between the cab and the curb and the taxista suddenly unfolded a sign from his door telling you that you were not in a lane? Hit the sign and keep going? Try to avoid the sign and fall onto the sidewalk?>

De El Mercurio del sábado, 6/3/2023 (1 article): This was an article that disappeared on Monday, but I think it’s interesting enough to rewrite.

Autos ChangLi S1-Pro deben ser homologados (ChangLi S1-Pro cars to be homologated (approved – my word for the day)) – The electric ChangLi car costs $1,131 and ease of purchase has awakened interest in buyers. The car is elegible to be imported with 0% tariffs. In order to circulate, the car which is categorized as a private vehicle, needs to be registered, have a license plate, and pass the technical inspection. Drivers need to have a type B license. The ultra-light car can reach a velocity of 40 kph and was designed to be used for daily driving for short distances in level or urban areas with a 50 km. range. It will operate normally on grades up to 15%, but doesn’t do as well on steeper slopes. It takes 10 hours to charge the battery on household current without the use of special transformers.

One peculiarity is how it can be purchased. You can order it on-line from Alibaba and it will be shipped to you in a box. The buyer then takes it out of the box and assembles it him(her)self. <Or you draft a grade school aged relative to put it together for you. Maybe the car is so cheap because the tools you need to assemble it come in a separate box that costs $5,999.>

Negocios –

De cada 10 productos en el mercado, 4 son informales (4 out of 10 products in the market are informal) – study by the Cámara de Industrias y Producción (CIP) found tht 4 out of every 10 products on the market are informal. The contraband affects 7 out of 10 businesses and impacts those businesses that comply with all of their legal obligations. María Paz Jervis, president of the CIP said a contraband product implies that taxes weren’t paid, minimum workers’ rights weren’t met, and these types of products and their entry into the country opens the door to organized crime.

The most common forms of illegality are open contraband, unregistered products, under-invoicing, and street sales. The most common contraband products are cigarettes of which about 80% are illegal, textiles including clothing and fabric, agricultural products, and medications. In Azuay the most unchecked products are cigarettes, liquor, beer, candy, cookies, juices and energy drinks.

According to the CIP survey, 35.32% of the respondents felt the party most injured by contraband are consumers, followed by the State (28.43%), businesses (18.74%), workers (14.26%), and others (3.24%). Illegal commerce is the crime that generates the 2nd highest amount of income at $242,000,000 annually, only topped by money laundering at $800 million.

Region –

En Cojitambo protegen sitio arqueológico (Archaeological site protected in Cojitambo) – The ruins in Cojitambo in Azogues are being protected. The Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural has delineated 2 areas for authorities to establish regulations for their management and care. The first area is the part that contains the ruins and is associated with the Qhapac Ñan (Camino del Inca (Inca Trail) which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This area has the highest protection in which only scientific research and no modern construction or alteration of the landscape can occur. The second area is a buffer area in which buried or overgrown vestiges are likely. Uses of this area are restricted.

Nacional –

Glas debe USD 14 millones al Estado ecuatoriano (Glas owes USD 14 million to the Ecuadorian State) – Over 5 years after the sentences in the Odebrecht case, the Tribunal de Ejecución de la Pena (Court for the Execution of Sentences) has decided on the amounts that each of the condemned needs to pay back to the State. Ex-VP Jorge Glas owes $14 million as does his uncle, Ricardo Rivera, who died in 2022. The other 6 will pay a proportionate amount of the over $5 million that will complete the $33 million that the Brazilian construction company admitted it paid in bribes in Ecuador. <I think that if all crooked politicians paid back what they got in bribes, there’d be a huge infusion of worldwide income that could be spent in more worthwhile ways. Maybe poor countries wouldn’t be poor anymore.> –

And that’s all for today so Hasta? –

Jeanne