Martes, 6/6/2017: Repairs on Cajas highway, Botanical park, Report on the economy

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s agenda events –

Book – “Carta Magna y Nuevo Constitucionalismo Latinoamericano” (Magna Carta and New Latin American Constitutionalism) will be presented today at 18:00 in the U. de Azuay.  Two of the authors include professors in Legal Sciences.

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Teatro – “Una recompensa monstruosa” (A monstrous reward) will be played este sábado y domingo in the Centro Cultural Imay (el Batán 4-70 y El Oro.) at 16:00.

Authors’ rights – There will be a Jornada (I’m guessing it’ll be like a round table or panel thingy) about authors’ rights for the audio-visual sector el jeuves at 18:00 in the CCE building.

Articles about –

Art in public spaces – Ruth Caldas, Vice Mayor of Cuenca received a proposal from two council members and artist Francisco “Pancho” Aguirre for a resolution which would allow presenting art and scenic arts in public spaces.  The proposal would liberate public spaces for art and say how those spaces could be used.  <People seem to be performing at every major street intersection already – if they’re not trying to wash your windshield.>

Bob Dylan – The Nobel Academy has finally received Dylan’s speech on winning the Nobel Prize.  In it he said his songs were created to be sung and not read.

FICC (Festival Internacional de Cine de Cuenca) – “Desde que bailas” (Since you dance) by Ecuadorian filmmaker Álvaro Torelli will be screened today at 16:00 in the teatro at the CCE.

Concurso – The “Bac-Historias” (Back story) contest was won by Sebastián Carrasco, a UDA student who will go on to participate in the “Madre Tierra: Una Sola Salud” (Mother Earth: A Single Health) Congress in Rosario, Argentina.

Otras cosas – 

Titular – El Caso Odebrecht atiza a la oposición y al Gobierno (The Odebrecht Case stirs the opposition and the Government) – The opposition is pressuring the Att’y Gen’l to investigate VP Glas and ex-Pres. Correa because they were directly responsible for the management of strategic sectors in which the corruption occurred.

Plaza San Francisco – Merchants are asking for security for their temporary stalls which they feel are very small.  Assembly of the temporary stalls has started.

Contralor – The AP (Alianza Pais)  <Moreno’s party which also has an Assembly majority.  Your civics lesson for the day in case you haven’t been paying attention.> agreed to start a political trial against Comptroller Carlos Polit who left Ecuador a few days before Brazil released information about Odebrecht.  <He’s in the US, and given the US’s extradition policy for people running from accusations of fiddling with finances, I bet he stays.>   He has been accused of “concusión” (concussion)  <I’m sure that’s a typo and it was supposed to be collusion.>

Finance Minister – Carlos de la Torre reported that the economy is in recovery and starting to grow as evidenced by increased deposits, higher credit, and an increase of 11.53% in taxes collected over the previous year.  The economy is double what it was 10 years ago, and triple over 20 years ago.

“Pies y Pedales” (Feet and Pedals) – This research study by a U. of Cuenca Traffic Engineering grad student found that the zebra crossings do not conform to a single standard, “ni en su forma, ni en sus dimensiones, ni en los materiales para ejecutarlos” (not in their design, nor in their dimensions, nor in the materials used – your partial sentence for the day). The transit law defines the zebra crossing as a pedestrian security zone.  <Yeah, and I’m married to the Pope.>  Among other things, the researcher will ask pedestrians if they do or do not use the marked crossings.  <And the answer will be sometimes.>

Jardín Botánico – Studies for a Municipal Botanical Garden are ready.  The first phase of 5.7 hectares will be located at the tip of La Isla, at the confluence of the Yanuncay and Tarqui Rivers.  The whole park will contain plants from many of the climate zones in the city, and will be along the banks of both rivers from Tres Puentes to the Gapal Bridge.

TAME – The airline will resume flights between Cuenca and Guayaquil with 4 flights a week.  For a flight to be profitable, it needs to be 60-80% occupied and the Cuenca-Guayaquil route run by TAME was at 60%.  <The key is going to be if passengers can count on those 4 flights a week.>

Road improvement plan – The new Minister of Transport and Public Works, ex-Mayor Paúl Granda, will submit a road plan for Azuay and the south in 15 days.  The road through the Cajas requires improvement.  There are problem spots at km. 92.5, km. 88 where there is a semi-permanent bypass, km. 84+320, and km. 67+120.  <I have no idea where they start counting.>

Internacional –

Venezuela – The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) proposed elections on 30/7 for the 545 members of the Asamblea Nacional Constituyente.  55,314 people have registered to become candidates.  Protests continued and were met with teargas.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne