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CuencaHighLife’s 2015 Cost of Living survey revealed one strong trend and provided information that seems to contradict the conventional expat wisdom about another trend. We compared results to a similar survey taken two-and-a-half years ago, in January 2013, as well...
Cuenca Mayor Marcelo Cabrera says the city will compensate bus owners for what they say is a shortfall of income between bus fares and expenses. The owners are asking for a fare increase to 42 cents from the current 25 cents. Cabrera said that he will try to...
Mirroring a nationwide trend, the Cuenca real estate market is slowing down as monthly sales number decline and properties take longer to sell. “What’s happening in Cuenca is similar to what’s happening in the rest of the country,” says Jorge Dávilos, a consultant to...
By Christopher Lux When you walk into Karana Chocolateria, you see rows of colorful bonbons, truffles, and chocolate bars laid out like fine jewelry in glass cases. Through the door of a display refrigerator, chocolate Petits Gâteaux, tarts and mousses can be seen....
The Cuenca municipal government is encouraging commercial development in the Barranco District, hoping to create a corridor that that mixes tourism, dining, natural landscape and historic interests. The Barranco District, which overlooks the historic Rio Tomebamba and...
Ecuador’s Secretariat of Risk Management has announced that the first drill to prepare for a possible Cotopaxi volcano eruption has been scheduled for Friday. The drill will test the coordination and preparedness of various government agencies and private...
A New York state appellate court ruled Tuesday that Ecuador’s courts are entitled to resolve any disputes related to the distribution of funds from the $9.5 billion environmental judgment against Chevron, handing a victory to New York attorney Steven R. Donziger and...
Ecuador’s Interior Ministry reports that homicides have fallen 25% during the first five months of 2015. The ministry says that the country now has less than six murders per 100,000 residents, the lowest on record. According to InsightCrime, a service that tracks...
Ecuador’s National Polytechnic Institute says that new seismic activity and gas emissions from the massive Cotopaxi volcano are causes for concern. It is a reversal of the institute’s reports over the past two weeks that the level of activity in the volcano was...
A study by a group opposed to construction of the Tranvía de los Cuatro Rios, Cuenca’s new tram system, say that only 12% of city residents believe that it will help solve the city’s transportation problems. The group says that 40% of respondents say the system will...
By Sylvan Hardy Rafael Correa made the right decision Monday night to pull the plug on proposed legislation that would have raised taxes on inheritances and capital gains. He realized he was in danger of losing the battle for the hearts and minds of Ecuadorians....
In a stunning reversal, President Rafael Correa announced Monday night that he is withdrawing his proposals for inheritance and capital gains tax increases. He says the proposals will be resubmitted to the National Assembly but only after there has been a “thorough...
The British Meteorological Office (BMO) says that the El Niño weather phenomenon shows signs of strengthening in the tropical Pacific Ocean and could affect Ecuador and Peru in early 2016. It would be the first major El Niño in more than five years. In 2014, there...
By Christopher Lux On Saturday morning, a concerned resident in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, called 911 to report a man "mistreating a squirrel." The man, in fact, was merely roasting a Guinea pig. When the police arrived, the Ecuadorian was cooking the animal...
Unable to match China's offer of $250 billion in investment in Latin America, the EU sought ways on Thursday to avoid being marginalized in the region, offering new trade deals, visa-free travel and deeper ties. At a two-day summit with Latin American leaders in...
Durante su transmisión a la nación el sábado, emitida desde Italia, el presidente Rafael Correa denunció lo que él llamó un golpe orquestado en contra de su gobierno por los opositores de sus recientes propuestas de impuestos. Correa habló ante una audiencia de...
During his weekly broadcast to the nation Saturday, this one delivered from Italy, President Rafael Correa denounced what he called a coup being ploted against his government by opponents of his recent tax proposals. Correa spoke before an audience of Ecuadorian...
By Viktoria Vidali Knowledge is the spring of creative talent. As it expands, it engages the artist’s deeper self and flows into a river of new combinations and relationships, from the quest for peaceful pathways to powerful reflections in color, motion, and feeling....
by Jane Pinney [Editor's Note: Jane Pinney was an Ecuador expat for nearly a year, who just moved to Chile, overland, with two dogs, thanks to her driver from Cuenca, Jon LaBoeuf. Jane is a writer and published author whose work can be seen at letterstogodtwo.com.]...
In a Friday morning press conference, National Assembly President Gabriela Rivadeneira announced that the proposed top inheritance tax rate of 77.5% is being reduced to 47.5% for all classes of inheritors. Last week, President Rafael Correa had reduced the top rate...
