Only 45% of Assembly seeks reelection; Canadian expat and his foundation help Ecuadorians; Judicial reforms considered; Pet sterilization in San Joaquín

Lunes, 19/6/2023

Hola, Todos –

Cultura –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 17/6 (1 article):
Obras de tres marcas en Escaparate Creativo (Works of three brands in Escaparate Creativo) – Design and craft returns to Escaparate Creativo, a space in the lobby of the Municipio de Cuenca (Sucre between Begnino Malo y Cordero) with products from 3 Cuencanan brands: MishiMishi, Creaciones Bladito, y Kikilla. The brands combine a fusion of traditional knowledge and contemporary trends, and their products include woven clothing and accessories, clothing for religious images and textile production with decorative objects <I’m translating that last phrase literally because I have no idea what it means.>. The show will run until el 22/6. Free.

Titular –

About 300 judges from all over the country met in Cuenca on the weekend to strengthen judicial rules that have allowed some judges to release dangerous criminals from prison on technicalities. (El Mercurio)

Dep. Cuenca cierra etapa con triunfo (Dep. Cuenca closes stage with a win) – <And there you have it. The details are yours to get for yourself.>

Cuenca –

Campaña para esterilización de mascotas en San Joaquín (Pet sterilization campaign in San Joaquín) – 150 pets were sterilized at a spay/neuter clinic that was held in San Joaquín last weekend by the Comisión de Gestión Ambiental (CGA) of the City of Cuenca and the fundación ARCA. Each pet was checked, received medical attention, and its owners informed about general care for the pet to enjoy good health. Carlos Orellana, director of the CGA, said that these events have been held in Quingeo and Santa Ana parishes. The objective is to avoid canine overpopulation as well as promote responsible pet ownership and encourage adoption. Technical standards indicate that by sterilizing 5% of the population of companion animals each year, it is possible to achieve control of their reproduction. <So all of you who complain or think “someone” needs to do something about all the dogs running around, look in the mirror. Donate some money or time to ARCA.>

Empresarial –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 17/6 (1 article):
Una iniciativa que tiene tinte solidario a favor de la gente (A solidarity initiative to help people) – Garry Vatcher came to Cuenca from Canada and 7 years ago, he started the Fundación Hogar de Esperanza which helps people with limited means including women, children, teens, disabled, HIV patients and their families. 40 people are attended to every day at the house on Juan Montalvo y Mariscal Sucre. Garry explained in his foreign accented Spanish <Eh?> that they help with medical appointments, lodging for people on the street, and hospital stays for people who come from other provinces.

Vatcher has generated 9 jobs and has the support of institutions and foreigners, mainly from Canada and the US, who live in Cuenca and contribute to the foundation with money, clothing and food. Another source of financing is the ‘Thrift Shop’ where clothes, shoes, and home accessories are sold. He also offers services to ‘expats’ such as paying utility bills, opening bank accounts, helping with SRI paperwork, and more. He said he likes what he does and that Canadians help others and aren’t selfish. The Hogar de Esperanza is an emergency shelter to which other institutions refer clients according to their needs. During the pandemic, the foundation delivered about 200 food kits daily and helped people return to their cities of origin.

Nacional –

Sismo en 20 cantones (Earthquake in 20 cantons) – There was a 5.3 earthquake el domingo a las 4:10 in Tena, Napo Province. It was felt in 20 cantons in 7 provinces and left one person in Archidona injured by falling glass from a door.

Incremento de temperatura (Temperature increase) – El Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Inamhi) issued a weather alert for an increase in temperature that will last to about el 23/6. High temperatures will be felt from 10:00 – 16:00 in the whole country with today being the hottest day in the Interandina and Amazónica regions. <Following the coldest morning – didn’t know what to wear today.>

De El Mercurio del domingo, 18/6 (1 article):
45% de legisladores cesados tercian para volver a la Asamblea (45% of terminated legislators are tertiary to return to the Assembly) – 61 of the 137 legislators from the Asamblea terminated by the muerte cruzada want to return to their previous seats. Some of these legislators are running with different parties than they were elected with. One has switched to a party with an ideology completely opposed to the party he was seated with. <More proof that politicians aren’t motivated by doing what’s best for their constituents, but best for themselves.>

According to information from Click Report presented el 20/3, the Asamblea Nacional had a trust and credibility rating of 9%. On el 25/5, the company reported that 73% of Ecuadorians were in agreement with the muerte cruzada. <Even though a lot of that 73% probably didn’t feel Lasso was doing his job any better than the Asamblea.> Citizens also complained about all the time that the legislature spent attacking the Government and about the fights within parties evidenced by 26 asambleístas leaving their parties. Another criticism was the scarce production of laws. The Observatorio Legislativo said that of the 573 laws presented in the legislative period from 2021-2023, only 10% were approved in the 2nd debate, and barely 5% were published as laws. <Too busy going on junkets to places with nice beaches, vibrant cities, and world class entertainment?>

De El Mercurio del sábado, 17/6 (1 article):
Jueces adoptan códico de ética (Judges adopt code of ethics) – <Warning – the translation of this article is very unreliable since I don’t know what a lot of legal terms mean in English much less in Spanish.> About 300 judges from all over the country met in Cuenca at the II Cumbre de Juezas y Jueces del Ecuador: Garantías Jurisdiccionales y Ética Judicial (II Summit of Judges of Ecuador: Jurisdictional Guarantees and Judicial Ethics). They met to analyze jurisdictional guarantees which are legal mechanisms that serve to protect human rights and the access to justice. However, use of these judicial mechanisms has caused prisoners accused of serious crimes to be released before completing their sentences. Examples include Carlos Flores, convicted of femicide in 2017 who serve only 6 years of a 34 year sentence. Junior Roldán (aka JR), a main leader of the Los Choneros gang, only served 13 years of a cumulative 83-year sentence for various crimes. Jorge Glas, ex-VP, who received sentences on 3 counts of corruption totaling 22 years, also benefitted.

In 2018, the Corte Constitucional (CC) issued an opinion that was taken by some judges as an opportunity to apply the jurisdictional guarantees to benefit prisoners without control. The CC establishes that prevarication had an exception for judges acting in constitutional actions: habeas corpus, precautionary measures and protective actions. However, the CC issued a new resolution on el 7/6 that judges that grant these guarantees without justification now can be accused of prevarication. <Unfortunately, resolutions like this wouldn’t have improved any of the problems the US Supreme Court is having with the ethical behaviour of some of its judges.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne