Posts:
Ecuador’s National Traffic Agency (ACT) is updating its driver’s license tests for both new and renewed licenses. The ANT is replacing current questionnaires with six new ones that it says comply with the new traffic law, the Organic Law of Land Transport, Traffic and...
By Sylvan Hardy It is a welcomed but often overlooked phenomenon on the Cuenca restaurant scene, and one that has transformed the experience of eating out over the past five or six years. It goes like this. Ecuadorians leave home, spend years working in U.S., Canadian...
Legislation that would fix the prices for domestic air travel is being attacked the country’s airlines as unnecessary intervention into a market system that provides choices to travelers. A bill introduced into the National Assembly by Cuenca assemblyman Oswaldo...
Ecuador is on a mission to confound Western governments. President Rafael Correa has sent one of his most popular cabinet members on a two-week European tour that includes stops in Florence, Paris, Madrid and Geneva. The high-level representative is not asking his...
Cuenca’s aggressive campaign to get drunk drivers off the streets resulted in 48 arrests on Friday and Saturday nights. So far this year, more than 600 have been arrested. According to Edita Ordoñez, police coordinator of the anti-drunk driving effort, says the...
By Viktoria Vidali Much has been written about the “expat experience,” often in bulleted or numbered prescriptions, but we humans are not programmable like computers,and even when following good and well-meaning advice, many of us are still unable to quell those...
Cuenca water wars aren’t over yet The city of Cuenca announced last week that it would raise water bills from 20% to 100%, citing the fact that rates have not changed in 14 years. Mayor Marcelo Cabrera said that even with the new rates, Cuenca water was a bargain....
By Wendy Jane Carrel I first met Sor (Sister) Patricia of the Hermanitas de la Caridad (Sisters of Charity) four years ago. I was conducting site visits of Ecuadorian assisted living homes. She was (and still is) the “coordinadora” in charge of 64 older adults –...
Although chikungunya is seldom fatal, it has been called the most painful disease in the world. “During the worst of it, it is excruciating,” says retired U.S. epidemiologist Ron Marshall. “Almost everyone who has been infected will tell you it’s the most painful...
The Cuenca Holistic Health Network presents its second Holistic Health Expo Thursday, May 14 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cuenca Chamber Of Commerce. In addition to 30 local exhibitors, the Expo features five participatory workshops: First Aid Kit Featuring Young...
Ecuador’s Yachay Technical University, the centerpiece of President Rafael Correa’s plan to build a “university system for the 21st century,” celebrated its first anniversary last week. Yachay, located in Imbabura Province, north of Quito, opened its doors in 2014...
Por David Morrill Rafael Correa es megalomaníaco, hablador, controlador, fanático religioso, creador de un estado sobreprotegido, limitador de la libertad de expresión y dueño de las cortes supremas. Por lo tanto, es intolerante, ofensivo, insensible, paranoico,...
Rafael Correa is a megalomaniac, a loud-mouth, a control freak, a religious fanatic, the architect of a nanny state, a muzzler of free speech, and a court-packer. He is, by turns, intolerant, insulting, insensitive, paranoid, condescending and thin-skinned. He is also...
Two years ago, the developers of a condominium project on Av. Ordoñez Lasso told real estate agents representing North American clients that they did not want their business. The reason? Gringos complained too much and sought legal remedies without trying to work out...
In the wake of the elimination of the government’s 40% contribution to the Social Security (IESS) program, the IESS board of directors has order restrictions on purchases, travel and hiring. Especially hard-hit is the IESS health care system. The board ordered a...
President Rafael Correa is back in the international news again but you’ll need to check the “weird news” column to find out the latest. As the story goes, the presidential motorcade was traveling through Quito’s historic district last Friday, when a 16-year-old...
By William D. Delahunt The Ecuadorian people have endured much over the last three decades – lurches between failed governments, irresponsible international companies eschewing their investment commitments, horrific oil pollution poisoning their environment, and a...
An end-of-life planning discussion at the Cuenca Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday drew a crowd of 250 English-speaking expats. They had plenty of questions. Senior care expert Wendy Jane Carrel moderated a panel discussion with Cuenca attorney Grace Velastegui and...
Although no Ecuadorian bank has closed the accounts of U.S. expats to avoid new IRS reporting requirements, they have added tougher rules for opening and maintaining accounts. Almost all banks require that foreigners opening a checking or savings account be legal...
For years, illegal DVDs and CDs have been mainstays of the entertainment diet for Ecuador residents, both locals and expats. For $1 to $1.50, they can buy the latest movies, sometimes before they are released in U.S. and European theaters. They can buy CDs of their...
