Posts:
Businesses that depend on air travel say they cannot compete with other South American countries due to high taxes and airport user fees that drive up the prices of tickets. They insist they need a break and are pinning their hopes on incoming president Lenin Moreno....
By Olivia Zaleski As Airbnb Inc. turns its attention to Latin America, the often-combative company is taking an unusual approach. It's giving local governments what they want. The home and apartment-rental company said it will collect and remit taxes in Mexico City,...
Although military spending rose worldwide over the last year, Latin America saw a big drop. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released 2016 data last month showing that, after the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean’s military spending fell...
Interior Minister Diego Fuentes reports that Ecuador's Anti-Narcotics Unit have seized more than five tons of illegal drugs in a cargo ship offshore of Santa Elena Province. The bust is the largest in the country’s history and one of the largest ever reported in South...
Women’s groups in Latin America are fighting back against the catcalls and other forms of sexual harassment that they are forced to deal with on a daily basis. Their weapon? A series of videos. Natalia Málaga, a former volleyball player who now coaches the Peruvian...
After writing my column on juicing a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a reader asking why, if raw kale is purported to be so healthy, was I against drinking it. Another reader had a question about the word “blenderizing.” In fact, she wrote, “do you mean...
By Liam Higgins Although it’s been largely out of the headlines, a deadly resurgence of the international drug trade is building in Colombia and Peru. Unfortunately, Ecuador finds itself in the middle and is struggling to keep a potential blood bath out of the...
Ángeles are a popular theme within the social structure of Ecuador. Catholicism reigns in this small South American country. There are paintings and statuary, carvings, drawings and reliefs of ángeles everywhere. Most of these are depicted in the traditional manner,...
Cuenca’s transportation chief, Jaime Guzman, says that operating costs for the tranvía will be known in July. That’s when transit consultant Leon Godoy delivers its final report and recommends a fare that will cover costs. That fare, however, may not be the one that...
The Guayaquil Municipal Transit Authority has ordered the international taxi service Cabify to end its operations in the city. The authority claims that the company is operating “informally” since it does not follow rules that apply to other taxi companies in the...
By Vince Moscoso I’m sorry I missed Friday’s meeting down at the Social Security office. Sounds like it was blast. What I haven’t missed is the veritable deluge of comments about the meeting and changes to Social Security membership fees that have appeared on this...
Those arrested for drunk driving and other crimes in Cuenca may soon find themselves cleaning graffiti off city buildings instead of serving jail time. On Tuesday, a group of men arrested for driving under the influence last weekend were put to work removing graffiti...
By José R. Cárdenas U.S. President Donald Trump’s opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and his withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership have led some critics to claim that the United States is turning its back to regional trading partners, and...
Police in Lima have arrested Carlos “Charlie” Pareja, former Ecuador energy minister. Pareja is the central figure in a corruption scandal at Petroecuador, the government-owned energy company. According to the prosecutor, the scandal involves as many as 80 employees...
President Rafael Correa has rejected criticism from the new president of Ecuador’s Catholic Episcopal Conference who said last week that Correa’s style of governing has created a “badly divided country and a bad taste in people’s mouths.” Monsignor Eugenio Arellano...
Ecuador’s National Assembly begins debate today on significant changes and additions to the country’s health laws. Many of the provisions of the proposed legislation are controversial, legislators say, and have not been discussed in the past. Included in the...
By Larry Luxner Half a century of communist rule in Cuba gave the island’s 11 million inhabitants superb health care and wiped out illiteracy, yet it’s also decimated the private sector and crippled the Cuban economy in the long term. Nicaragua, also ruled for decades...
In its periodic review of the country's human rights record, a United Nations panel gives Ecuador high marks for its record on poverty reduction, handicapped accessibility, expansion of right for women and children, and immigration. But the panel, which included...
The national police are stepping up efforts to catch thieves who prey primarily on tourists in Cuenca’s historic district. They say they are seeing increased instances of scammers using hard-luck stories and distraction techniques to steal money in recent weeks....
Tame Airlines’ new partner will be announced May 22, according to Christian González, Tame general manager. Two commercial airlines are bidding to be majority partners with the struggling government-owned carrier. Citing confidentiality agreements, González refused to...
