Keep politics out of water march, sponsors say; Gov’t owes $41 billion to IESS; Prepping for El Niño; Quito Symphony goes electronic (roll over Beethoven)

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 5/9) Camilo se presentará en Cuenca en 2027 (Camilo will perform in Cuenca in 2027) – The Colombian singer Camilo will perform in Ecuador in abril, 2027 with his “Para Cuando Sean Mayores Tour” in Quito and Cuenca. The concert in Quito will be el 9/4/2027 in the Arena Bicentenario. The show in Cuenca will be at the Coliseo Jefferson Pérez el 10/4/2027. Prices are $119 for Box, $79 for Platinum, and $49 for Preferencia. Presales will be exclusively with Banco Guayaquil credit/debit cards and PeiGo from el 14-17/9 through www.feelthetickets.com. General sales with all forms of payment will start el 18/9. <This singer I’ve never heard of must be a big deal to have presales this far in advance, and $119 for seats.>

(De El Mercurio del domingo, 6/9) Ad for SyMphoN-E Cuenca – The anthems of electronic music interpreted by the Sinfónica Fundación de Quito -Vernes, 11/9 a las ? in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. Tickets available on Meet2Go.

A tractor dredges the Rio Yanuncay in prepearation for El Niño. (El Mercurio)

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 5/9) Colocan la primera piedra del Proyecto Paseo Solano (Corerstone laid for the Paseo Solano Project) – The cornerstone for the Proyecto Paseo Solano, located on av. Solano, kitty corner from the Colegio Benigno Malo, was laid in a ceremony last jueves. The project, which combines condominiums and commercial spaces, is being developed by the Grupo Campana (Pablo Campana) and FEGROUP (Francisco Encalada). Also at the ceremony were the mayor and other city officials.

(De El Mercurio del domingo, 6/9) Millonaria deuda del Estado con IESS (The government owes the IESS millions) – In a letter of rejection of the intention of the current authorities of the Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS) to sell the assets of the institution, the Plataforma de Jubilados reported that the debt owed by the Government is currently $41,241 million <or over $41 billion>. Based on information from the Observatorio Fiscal, the Government debt to IESS was $10.151 billion in mayo, 2010, and had grown to $41.241 billion in mayo, 2026.

However, the amount the current Government says it owes IESS as of mayo, 2025, was $27.389 billion. The jubilados (retirees) said that the accelerated debt represents an average extraction from the IESS reserves of $1.036 billion per month. The Plataforma de Jubilados also said that the intent to sell the assets “blatantly” violates article 372 of the Constitution which says that the funds and reserves of obligatory social security are its own, distinct from those of the State. <This seems like an amazingly stupid move from someone who’s supposed to be a businessman.>

(De El Mercurio del lunes, 7/9) Ante alerta, preparan respuesta a El Niño (In response to the alert, preparations are underway for El Niño) – Cuenca canton and Azuay Province have adopted preventive measures and activated emergency plans to confront the possible effects of El Niño. The Government forecasts that the largest impacts will be between the end of this year and beginning of 2027. Over the past year, the city has executed about 200 actions to reduce the possible impacts, especially in the rural parishes of Chaucha and Molleturo which have a history of past effects. These actions include bridge maintenance, cleaning creeks and culverts, and forming crews to activate and maintain drainage systems.

Erick Gutiérrez, director of Gestión de Riesgos del Municipio (City Risk Management), has identified temporary shelters with a capacity to attend to about 400 families. <Define family – some friends have told me that if they have a big family reunion, there can be 100-300 people.> If large scale emergencies emerge, the City has an initial $250,000 to help those affected. In addition to that there are 260 humanitarian and cleaning kits and supplementary supplies that will cover 15 days. The Provincial Government has intensified preventive actions since last febrero y marzo. These include protection of river banks, recovery of roads, and maintaining the provincial road network. They are working on acquiring 5 Bailey bridges which are planned to be installed in sectors such as San Vicente de El Carmen de Pijili, Chaucha, Barabón, and other vulnerable points. The Prefectura currently has 73 machines (the pictures show excavators digging in rivers and along river banks) to attend to possible emergencies, and it plans to rent 20 more. <But it will be in competition with the coastal provinces which are already flooding.>

(De El Mercurio del martes, 8/9) El agua no es una bandera electoral (Water is not a campaign issue) – The organizers of the Gran Marcha por el Agua are asking political candidates and movements to not use the 16/9/2026 march for political purposes. They think that the defense of water transcends the campaigns and responds to a real demand from the citizenry. As background, on el 7/2/2021, there was a referendum on mining in Cuenca. On el 16/9/2026, there will be a commemoration of the Gran Marcha por el Agua in which about 100,000 citizens marched on el 16/9/2025. Dundee Precious Metals acquired the Loma Larga project in julio, 2021. On el 3/10, 2025, the environmental license for the project was revoked. The mining project, Río Blanco in Molleturo and Chaucha, remains suspended.

An objective of this year’s march is to continue the monitoring of the Quimsacocha páramos since even though the environmental license was revoked, the mining concession remains in effect. A goal of the march is to insist on the definite closing of Loma Larga, abandoning the mining camp, and vacating the offices in Victoria del Portete.