National census slated for Oct. and Nov.; Public perception, Cuenca crime stats don’t jive; Coopera liquidation continues; Glas’ habeas corpus appeal

Jueves, 19/5/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Muestra – The exhibit, “Mujer Infinita” by artist Diego Buitrón will open mañana a las 19:00 in the Galería de la Alcaldía.

Exposición – The show and sale “Waminsi soy Matico” will be at the exposition hall at CIDAP until 10/6. It will show the art of weaving. Hours are from lunes a viernes from 8-17:00.

Titular –

Glas estuvo súper atendido (Glas was superbly cared for) – Ex-vicepresident Jorge Glas applied for habeas corpus to regain his freedom 4 times, and all of the requests cited his physical and mental illnesses that were aggravated by not receiving adequate medical care from the public health system. There was a hearing ayer to appeal the habeas corpus that set him free. At the hearing, María Peñafiel, a lawyer for the MSP, said that Glas received medical attention 286 times between 21/11/2018 and 10/4/2022 while he was in prison. Doctors included general practitioners, dentists, and various specialists who treated him in prison and when he was attended to at an IESS hospital in Quito.

Hundreds marched through the historic district Thursday protesting crime and violence. The march was sponsored by Mayor Pedro Palacios.

He received 15 kinds of medication, all subsidized by the the State and IESS. Peñafiel said that at times, Glas refused medical attention, apparently with the intent of harming his health to support his case for the granting of habeas corpus. His defenders said that the treatment he received not only did not help him get better, but created addictions and affected his nervous system. They said when he was released he suffered from hypertension, gastritis, arthritis, and psychiatric disorders which led to suicide attempts. <I imagine sitting in a prison cell while contemplating all those millions in offshore accounts you can’t get to would raise anyone’s blood pressure and make them crazy.> The decision will be made in 8 days. The possibilities are that the tribunal will revoke the habeas corpus and return him to prison to finish his 2 sentences totalling 14 years, ratify the habeas corpus leaving him a free man, or transfer him to a different prison, or a medical or psychiatric center.

Cuenca –

Delitos de mayor incidencia en Cuenca (Most common crimes in Cuenca) – The Gran Marcha por Nuestra Cuenca Segura to ask the Gobierno Nacional for action against crime and violence was this afternoon (jueves). There is a public perception of insecurity even though the Policía Nacional says that Cuenca, with its population of close to 895,503, is one of the 5 safest cities in the country. For policing, the city is divided into Cuenca Norte and Cuenca Sur. There are 8 districts in Azuay with 67 circuits, and 78 subcircuits. The article has pie charts showing the incidences of thefts from businesses, robberies from people, auto theft and moto theft. Other charts show what district they occurred in, what circuits in Cuenca they occurred in, the method of the theft, and if and what arms were used.

Más de 1,000 calles sin nombre en Cuenca (More than 1,000 streets without names in Cuenca) – Currently, over 1.400 streets in Cuenca including 100 in the Centro Histórico do not have a name, making them difficult to find. Also nameless are 2 stairways, 406 passages, and 2,706 calles sin retorno (dead end streets – you phrase for the day). <I imagine a clueless newby telling a taxista to take him to calle Sin Nombre y Una Vía.> Because of that, the citizenry has a chance to participate in naming streets. Tamara Landívar, director of Cultura, Recreación y Conocimiento del Municipio explained that whoever is interested can nominate a person who has died, with a brief summary of what that person has contributed to society. Nominations can be submitted to the the Cultura, Rec., etc web page, to the portal enlinea.cuenca.gob.ec (option Cuenca Doc – Multiservicios Virtual window), or on Ventanilla Única. <There must be some gringos who have passed who have contributed to the city that you can nominate.>

14 médicos dan “la prueba más dificil del mundo” (14 doctors take “the most difficult test in the world”) – 14 youth and ex-students of the U. of Cuenca have spent the last 2 years studying tons of material, 12 hours each day. They were preparing for the Médico Interno Residente (MIR – Resident Medical Intern) test to be accepted into a 5 year program for specialties in Spain. One of the challenges of this program is that only 4% of the spots are for foreigners. The 14 doctors, because they were foreigners, were required to enter an academy in Spain where they were coached to get the best possible score. 12,800 foreigners applied to take the MIR. Only 328 got spots in the program to study 44 medical specialties.

Region –

Dan en comodato bienes de Coopera (Coopera’s assets are given in bailment) – <You old-timers should remember the Coopera collapse in 2013 – maybe you even had money in it.> The Instituto Nacional de Economía Popular y Solidaria (IEPS) is in charge of 5 properties of the liquidated Coopera. The properties are in the process of being given in bailment to organizations for projects to reactivate the economy. There is a property in El Guabo, El Oro Province; one in Santa Isabel; and 2 buildings in San Joaquín and market infrastructure in Puertas del Sol, Cuenca. The offices of IEPS are in one of the buildings in San Joaquín which will be given in bailment to the parish junta which will use it to implement projects that promote economic reactivation. The projects will have a social character in favor of vulnerable groups such as single mothers, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Nacional –

Censo de población y vivienda a fin de año (Population and housing census at the end of the year) – The 8th Population, 7th Housing, and 1st Community census will take place between octubre y diciembre of 2022. the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC) was going to conduct it in 2020, but postponed it due to the pandemic. Results will be ready in mayo, 2023. There will be new questions related to gender, peoples and nationalities, discapacity, migration, and urban wildlife. The possibility of filling out the census on line was also presented and it is hoped/expected that 25% of Ecuadorians will pick the on-line option. The in-person census will not be on one single day as before, but from 7/11 to 18/12 when census workers will visit houses, so as not to stop the economy for the day. Over 18,000 people will be contracted to collect the data. <I hope they send English speaking workers into Gringolandia so as not to risk an undercount of ex-pats.>

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
_________________

Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.