Mass vaccinations to begin in March; Carnival activities are cancelled; Local simulation tests election systems; Where to hear the candidates

Lunes, 18/1/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
Nada

Otras cosas –

Titular –

Semana inicia con mira en vacunación (Week starts with a view to vaccination) – The first 15,000 doses of Covid vaccines will arrive in the country this week and vaccinations will start. Similar numbers will arrive each week until the first 68,000 doses are received. Mass vaccinations will start in marzo with 2 million doses that have been assured. The first people to receive vaccines will be health workers to guarantee that hospitals can function. The second group will be seniors, then people from ages 16-55 who have heart disease. After that, according to recommendations being made in the US, would be vulnerable citizens due to their social economic status. For the moment, children under 18 will not be vaccinated, and people who have had the virus should wait. A research professor recommended that people who have had anaphylactic allergic reactions wait near the vaccination site for 30 minutes. The first vaccines will come from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Elections officials conducted simulations of voting and vote-counting systems Monday in Cuenca. (El Mercurio)

Con simulacro prueban conteo rápido de votos (Fast vote counting tested with simulation) – The offices of the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral) in Azuay was the location of the first simulation of the 7/2 elections. These were mainly technical tests to evaluate logistical and operational capacity. Of the 100 Centros de Digitalización de Actas (Vote Digitization Centers) that will be functioning on election day, 64 were activated in the simulation and passed. There will be a second simulation el próximo domingo, 24/1 which will test the security system and biosecurity protocols. The election will be observed by the Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD – United Nations Development Program), Organización de Estados Americanos <You remember them? The ones that made a unilateral call on the Bolivian elections? Well they’re here, and they’re watching.>, and UNIORE. The Policía Nacional and the Fuerzas Armadas (Armed Forces) will participate.

Cantones omiten actos de Carnaval (Cantons skip Carnival events) – The COEs of Azuay fear an increase in cases especially since the new cepa (strain – your word for the day) of Covid is in the country. Authorities are suspending celebrations of cantonization anniversaries and the traditional Carnaval events. <Now don’t think this means you’re not going to get soaked with squirt guns, water bombs, or hoses. Even I could maintain social distancing and still hit you with my water delivery system of choice.>

Voto 2021 –

Public information on elecciónes 2021 – There will be information on the general elections and candidates from lunes a jueves, 11/1 to 4/2 a las 20:00 on multiple platforms. Learn about the candidates and their economic, political, social, leadership, safety, and public administration proposals. You can see these interviews a las 20:00 on El Mercurio’s Facebook and Youtube pages,Academia TV on broadcast Channel 2, or listen to the interviews on radio universitaria Ondas Cañaris: 95.3 FM and 1,530 AM.

From lunes, 18/1 –
Construye: renovación y experiencia (Build: renewal and experience) – List 25, Construye, formerly Ruptura, is running a door to door campaign, and talking to people in plazas, and other public spaces. It is led by Xavier Martínez who is bold and doesn’t fear challenges. Other candidates are Teresita Bermeo who was Tranvía observer at the start of the project, and held public positions such as political lieutenant in Ricaurte and San Joaquin and political chief in Cuenca; Nicolás Aguiilar who is director of merchants in the Centro Histórico and was a candidate for the city council: Priscila Salcedo; and Ismael Cabrera Sari who is the youth candidate.

List 25 will focus on 3 fundamental themes which are the economy, social development, and citizen safety. On the theme of the economy, List 25 would include updating social registers to focus benefits on those who really need them, getting people into jobs with programs of entrepreneurship, housing, employment, educational and productive credits that seek the integral developmen of the person. It would also offer productive credits, encourage small and medium businesses, charge no duties on tools and material for production, support development of technologies, and fight the pandemic to improve the economy with the restarting of activities. Its social plan offers better plans for housing, a plan against child malnutrition, prevention of teenage pregnancies, and improvements to educational systems. Its security plan includes 23 laws that would establish effective crime prevention policies and plans to reintegrate prisoners into society.

From domingo, 17/1 –
Activistas, carta electoral de SUMA (Activists, SUMA slate) – This list also includes the movimiento Libre Ecuador and supports Guillermo Celi for president. The list is considered to the right and is pro-life and against abortion in all forms. It also does not rule out the privitization of IESS in the future. It is the only list with a representative from the rural parishes. SUMA is led by Cecilia Ordóñez, a liberal who comes from a family of politicians and holds 20 academic titles. She was project director of Social Development in the City of Cuenca. Other candidates are Pedro Álvarez who is a provida (pro-life) activist and the youth candidate; María Fernanda Jimbo who is an entrepreneur and part of Familias Unidos Por los Enfermos de Cáncer (FUPEC – Families United for Cancer Patients); Jonnathan Cuesta who is a family counselor linked to a Christian church; y Kerly Carchi who is a Chola from Ricaurte and committed to rural development.

SuMA’s 5 basic proposals are the fight against corruption, economic recovery, health, education, and dignified retirement for affiliates of IESS. With regards for justice, it proposed political death for public officials sentenced for corruption and it asks to reduce salaries of the asambleistas by 50%. Economically, it wants to open the market, reduce taxes, reduce paperwork for entrepreneurs, the arrival of international banking, and legal security to attract foreign capital. For health, SUMA would eliminate the obligatory affiliation with IESS and each person would have the opportunity to pick what insurance they wanted for their pension and health coverage. For education it would eliminate the Ser Bachiller test and for retirement, it would offer less paperwork.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne